The Book Keeper
by TimeAndLife21
Summary: While in the Library with Wong's threat in the air, he heard another voice that joined in. Apparently this Book Keeper is not one to be trifled with. But she seems to be rather interesting in many ways. So who is Anaiah really? What brought her to this place? Stephen is wanting to find out. Filling out the timeline for Stephen's stay in Kamar-Taj. Stephen/OC eventually.
1. Chapter 1

_**The Book Keeper**_

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

Stephen couldn't help but wonder about the threat that Wong had just given him. Until a feminine voice spoke out.

"Wong...I think you missed something."

Wong straightened up and turned around. Stephen leaned over a little bit to see a young woman with dark brown hair pulled up into a bun. She had bangs and hair that framed her face with precision. She had on thin grey glasses and was putting an ancient book away. When she turned around again, he noted that she was wearing emerald robes with silver bordering. She walked over to where Wong was and saw that she was a small little thing. She reached probably his collarbones if she stood next to him. Her face was pale and delicate as the rest of her body. She was a wisp of a thing as if a breeze could blow her away.

"Anaiah." Wong spoke.

When she spoke again, Stephen could detect a British accent.

"If I wasn't in the Dragon's Triangle dealing with some disturbances there, this would never have happened. The only other person that Kaecillius could take on besides The Ancient One, would be me." She sneered showing white teeth.

Stephen noticed that her eyes briefly glowed an eerie dark green color before it stopped glowing and reverted back to a chocolate brown.

"Do not blame yourself Anaiah." Wong spoke gently. "You know that before Kaecillius had left, he had given you a chance to follow him."

She scoffed.

"I would never follow him. The Ancient one has done so much for me. I would never betray her even if I breathed my last breath." She said sighing.

"If anything, I would have managed to stop him in his tracks. Anyways, what's this about stealing books and making sure someone wouldn't get out alive before they reached the front doors?" She smirked, the tension gone from the room.

"I was just making sure that Mister Strange-" Wong was interrupted.

"Doctor...Strange. It's Doctor." Stephen said correcting Wong.

"That he understands that consequences for stealing books from this place." Wong continued.

She turned to see him and he was startled by how intense her eyes were. They looked like a calm before the storm.

"I see. Well then...Doctor Strange…" She spoke, he was thankful that she used the correct address, "please understand that the books you borrow are returned to its rightful place, but anything beyond this desk, you must come to either myself or Wong. We will be happy to assist you in anything." She briefly looked down to his scarred hands and nodded.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I must finish placing some of the other books away. Don't make any trouble for me please." She spoke before turning around and walking away.

 _"_ _What an interesting woman."_ He thought.

* * *

"Ah, I see you met the Book Keeper." Mordu chuckled.

Stephen was trying to focus on the book that was in front of him, but the woman in the Library was stuck in his mind.

"If that her official title?" Stephen asked.

"Yes. Anaiah is one of the Ancient One's 'Guard' so to speak. She came here when she was just a child, just 9 years old, the Ancient one took her in." Mordu spoke.

"9 years old?" Stephen raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. She was a dirty little thing when she arrived. Thin and starving, and was desperate for anything for shelter and food. The Ancient One took her in without question. And she grew to be one of the strongest Sorceresses far from the Ancient One's power, she is one of the best here." Mordu smiled gently.

"You seem to like her." Stephen pointed out.

Mordu blushed only a little.

"Ah, Anaiah isn't really my type. She is like an annoying little sister to me." He deflected.

Stephen wasn't so sure of that. Given the fact that Mordu seemed to like this Book Keeper.

"But she is a bit strange." Stephen spoke.

"She is in a sense. She is more in tune with the Magical Arts then some of us. As a result of her training since she was small." Mordu spoke.

"A child sorceress?" Stephen pointed out.

"Not necessarily. The Ancient One waited until she was older to be in the Guard. But she was also given the job of Book Keeping as well." He shrugged.

"Seems like the Ancient One likes favoritism." Stephen muttered.

"Don't insult the Ancient One's choices. Anaiah is a great ally to all of us. If you can get along with her, you may go far." Mordu spoke before he left the room, leaving Stephen to his thoughts.

Maybe he could give the Book Keeper another visit.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ The Doctor Strange movie was AMAZING! I was probably tripping balls when it came to some scenes, but other than that, I loved it so damn much! I have always been a big fan of Doctor Strange, that when they announced the movie, I legit cried. Cumberbach did an amazing job of acting (though, his American accent slightly threw me for a loop as I'm used to his Sherlock tendencies) and I have to admit, the Cloak was awesome as well. I was not disappointed when I went to see the movie. Now it would seem to be that the timeline for Doctor Strange is Between Iron Man 2 and Civil War. At least that's what I have seen and have come to a conclusion. So Until I can get the movie that will be coming out next February (I WANT THE MOVIE NOW!) I'll be basically going through the notions of the passing of time of Strange's time in Kammar-taj (I hope i spelled that correctly). If anything, I'll be doing a whole reboot of this story, once i get the movie on DVD. Otherwise, These will be drabbles (of some sort) that are not in chronological order. So don't get confused if something seems out of place. Also, while i did like the chemistry between Stephen and Christine, In the end, he let her go. At least that is how I see it. Thus, this is a Stephen x OC story/drabbles. But It will get there eventually. XD So, here we go peeps! :D See you in the next chapter!

 _ **Question time!:**_ The _**Doctor Strange**_ movie was awesome! I loved it all! So what were your impressions on the movie and what are your favorite parts of it? What would you like to see in this story/drabble fic?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Book Keeper**_

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_

She was at one of the proving grounds with quite a lot of other students.

Stephen closed the book that was in his hands and walked to the edge of the grounds and saw that various students were listening to her lecture. It was strange, no pun intended, because he had never seen her out here other than the few times he had seen her in the library. He decided to come closer to hear what she was saying.

"- arts is to not only defend yourself but others as well. You will find that when it comes to certain branches of magic, some branches are well suited for others, some are not." She spoke resolutely.

"Master Anaiah, what branches are you proficient in?" A student asked.

"I am well versed in offensive magics, defensive magics and Healing magics. Granted, I've been able to recently master the Arts of Shapeshifting, though I do not recommend it for novices. Not unless you want to end up with ears and a tail of a cat, believe me, that is an unpleasant experience." She smirked.

Even Stephen cracked a smile at that.

"Now, I will end this by telling you that even if a certain branch of the Mystical Arts doesn't suit you. That doesn't mean that your hard work has went to waste. It just means that you have a weak skill that just may help you live to fight another day." She spoke clearly.

"I cannot wield certain Mystical Arts. I admit that, and yes, I have a hard time working on such difficult spells and the like just so that I could be proficient in the Mystic Art. But I learned that if one branch of the arts doesn't suit me, I would go for another branch that is similar and would test it out." She explained.

"As such, I'm to tell you that you choose to be here for a reason. To learn and to expand yourselves to all possibilities." She smiled gently.

He recognized those words. The Ancient One spoke similar words to him.

She had dismissed the group and they left, chattering excitedly and bounded off elsewhere. He sided up to her and cleared his throat.

"Yes, Doctor Strange?" She asked as she turned to look up at him.

He looked down at her and saw the still intense look in her eyes. He wondered what had happened to her to have such a look.

"I didn't know you could do lectures." He spoke.

"Only when the Ancient One is busy. She is currently in a meeting with a few other Masters at the moment. When she is unavailable, I or other Masters that are not involved in such meetings will take over." She explained before turning away and walking.

He followed her briskly, for a tiny thing, she was fast.

"So how did you get the position of Book Keeper?" He asked.

"Since I was a child, I would pour everything into my learning. The Librarian…" She paused only slightly. "He saw my desire to learn and become much more than I was. So he would let me stay in the Studies and the Library as much as I wanted, all while caring for the books, tomes, and scrolls that reside in there. When I was 18, I was given the Position of Book Keeper to work under him. I have been doing my job since then."

"Until recently…" Strange pointed out.

She stopped abruptly and looked up at him with venom in her eyes and he had a feeling that he insulted her. But then the venom disappeared and she sighed.

"I was in the Dragon's Triangle in Japan dealing with a rather...supernatural being there. A Queen who had managed to have a ritual of passing her soul to possess the body of another was cursed in a half life. Granted, the situation resolved rather quickly, but not quick enough for me to return here to stop Kaecillius." She frowned.

"But, The past is past. Whatever may come our way we will be ready." She said determined.

"You seem to take this pretty seriously. Why be involved in something like this? It's not as if the fate of the world is in your hands." He spoke.

"That's what you believe." She smiled at him.

Stephen decided to change the conversation. He wasn't going anywhere really if he was going to continue the subject with her. He did have a few questions concerning what happened not too long ago when he was sparring with Mordo.

"How does a relic choose you?" He asked.

At this, she seemed to have a pained expression on her face.

"Uh...do you want the truth or the blatant lie." She asked with a look that seemed she sucked on a lemon.

"The truth?" He asked hesitantly. "I was sparring with Mordo not too long ago and he told me that the relic chooses you."

"I see." She deadpanned. "While it is true that the relic chooses you…" She paused and shook her head. "I will warn you...some relics are more...sentient than others."

"Sentient?" He looked at her in confusion.

"Well, some Relics are not 'awake' so to speak. They only truly awake when comes time for them to choose their partner." She spoke as she stopped to turn around.

"I've had my relics since i was 16 and believe me...it's not all fun and games." She chuckled.

"Relics? You can have more than one?" He asked.

"Some Masters have 4 relics, others have only the one. I have two surprisingly. But they are a pain." She shook her head.

"What are they?" He asked curiously.

She laughed, a low tone that sounded pleasant to his ears.

"Oh no. Sorry. Mordo may have told you of his relic, if anything, My relics are more...shall we say obnoxious and are very difficult to get along with." She chuckled. "I'm not showing you my relics."

"And why not?" He asked stubbornly.

"Because I truly do not want to bring them out unless I'm either sparring with the other Masters or defending the Sanctum Sanatoriums with my life on the line." She frowned at him.

"Surely your relics are not that bad." He questioned.

"Trust me Doctor Strange...you do NOT want to cross weapons with me." She smirked darkly at him.

That made him stop in his tracks. That smirk promised him that if he was to spar with her...he should make sure that he can hold up against her. For some reason...he wanted to see her in action.

"Well I guess we'll see about that." He smiled back at her.

She gave another laugh.

"Ah, Doctor Strange, you are an interesting man. I do hope that you will improve and surpass in everything that you do." She smiled, a genuine smile, before turning away and leaving him alone.

* * *

"What are Anaiah's relics?" Stephen asked Mordo.

This question surprised Mordo as he turned around and looked at Stephen with a slightly scared look in his eyes.

"Out of all the questions you can ask me, you ask that?" Mordo asked before laughing at him.

"If a relic has to choose me, I'm curious of what it could be…" He wondered.

Stephen could take a gander of what his relic could be. A quarterstaff? A sword? A mace or an ax even?

"Anaiah is...sensitive about her relics." Mordo chuckled.

"Oh?" Stephen inquired.

"Well, I'm not going to say anything, but I will tell you that when her relics choose her, let's just say that she wasn't really pleased." Mordo spoke before he took an apple from his pouch and started eating it.

"What are they?" Stephen asked.

"If she didn't tell you, I'm not telling you. I'm not risking myself to tell you. If she found out that I told you, she would have my soul. Literally." Mordo said before tossing the apple core away and turning to a book.

This just made Stephen a little frustrated. The Book Keeper is a mystery alright, but he would let this slide for now. He just needed to focus on these Sanskrit incantations now.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Okay, so I took a bit of leeway with the relics here. As far as I know and what the movie has offered, the relics choose the wielders. So this translated in my mind what if the wielder doesn't like to use the relics unless absolutely necessary? Well I'm not telling you what her relics are yet. I will tell you this... the two relics she has are not only of certain religious interpretations of it (not to mention some personifications of them as well), but certainly not to overpower her. She doesn't like using her relics unless she has to. I'll leave it to you to figure out what her relics are. Because I will tell you that they are quite interesting and funny. While Strange has the Cloak of Levitation (and also by extension the Eye of Agamotto) he does have an arsenal of weapons in his use in the comics and hopefully we'll see more of them in future movies. Again, This story is pretty much drabbles/oneshots following the movie to the best of my memory until I can get my hands on the DVD/Blu-ray (which is coming out in February as I did my research...BALLS!). So if anything seems a bit or more off to you, that is why. As I have said before, I will reboot this story once i get my hands on the dvd. So no worries there. ON TO THE _**SHOUT OUTS!**_

 _ **JinxWriter:**_ Ah yes, the movie is definitely life that is for sure! Seriously, we know so much about our main avengers superheroes but what about the lesser known ones? Doctor Strange is one of my top favorite superheroes next to Iron man. XD I have a pretty decent idea where to go with this story but we will see. XD

 _ **awesome pichu:**_ Yeah, I did a bunch of referencing to where the placement of Doctor Strange's timeline is. I am a firm believer that it is sometime a little bit before Iron Man 2 and it spans to after or a little before Civil War Ends. So I have a lot of room to play in with this. XD

 _ **Superdani4Ever:**_ I'm glad you had the chance to watch the movie. Trippy as balls, but hey that was the beauty of visuals in it. And Yeah, I feel bad for Mordo in the end. I know for a fact that some versions of Mordo is that he was a fanatic follower of Dormanmu, but this MCU version of him is a lot better to be honest. I like the way they presented him too. XD And don't worry, you'll see some interactions between the Ancient one and Anaiah through Stephen's pov. I'm thinking of putting an origin chapter for Anaiah, but that won't be for a while. XD Thank you for reviewing!

 _ **TAL21:**_ Okay, now that we are done with the shout outs, i hope you readers liked this one. Because seriously, If you haven't noticed, I am obsessed with Doctor Strange. I have been a fan of him for a long time but nothing really did much justice for him save for the Animated 2007 movie that I have. So, I'll se you guys in the next chapter and please leave _**Detailed Reviews**_ please! I love hearing from you guys and long reviews give me ideas to come up with new chapters. :) See you later!

 _ **Question Time!:**_ There were a lot of easter eggs in the movie but one really stood out to me. In the beginning, Strange was driving distracted. Granted the car crash was a bit overkill, but in real life, Distracted driving will cost lives if you are not careful. _**PLEASE DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE!** _ What are the easter eggs in the movie that you managed to spy?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Book Keeper**_

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3**_

It was late at night and Stephen couldn't sleep. The trembling and pain in his hands have been keeping him up. Not even the regular painkillers that he had left would help him. He quickly got dressed in his blue robes and took a walk.

It was quiet in Kamar-taj. Only the sounds of the night seemed to be prevalent. He wandered around for a while, trying to ignore the pain in his hands, and instead focused his mind to recall spells that he was practicing. He was lost in his thoughts when he started to hear something that brought him out of his mind.

He followed the soft crooning that seemed to echo through the night when he stumbled upon the Book Keeper once again. In the small private area that was used for meditation, she was there sitting on the stone bench. Instead of her signature green and silver robes, she was wearing a thin silver fabric that was similar to a nightgown and a light blue kimono like robe over the nightgown that was tied at the waist. Her hair was let down instead of it's usual bun. She had very long hair as reached to the small of her back. She was drinking out of a large tea cup and a book was floating in mid-air in front of her.

She was singing a melody that wasn't familiar to him but he stood where he was to observe her. The soft lilt of her voice seemed to soothe him, momentarily forgetting the pain in his hands, he could probably sleep if he wanted to.

Then he heard the words.

 _"_ _It's a long way forward_

 _So trust in me_

 _I'll give them shelter like you've done for me._

 _And I know I'm not alone_

 _You'll be watching over us_

 _Until you're gone."_

She sung the melody as the book was turning the pages for her. She then abruptly stopped.

This startled Stephen as he was a bit miffed that she stopped her singing. It was quite alluring her voice was. She placed her teacup down and grabbed hold of the book that was in mid-air and scrunched her face in concentration. She then lifted her left hand and he saw her creating a spell. Instead of the orange-red spells that he usually sees, this spell was a dark green. The symbols were in Ancient Celtic and she was looking to and fro to the spell and the book.

She then put the book down and raised her other hand to complete the spell. The spell was like an alchemic circle with diamonds and circles intersecting each other.

She then crossed her arms across her chest sharply before separating them horizontally. The result was...exhilarating to say the least.

The dark green spell that was hovering in mid-air slowly turned a bright crystal blue before it shrunk rapidly then suddenly exploded into millions of tiny green and blue lights. It filled up the area. He was standing in shock as the lights twirled and spun lazily in the air. It was a rather beautiful sight. Something that he hoped could sear into his mind and remember it.

"See something interesting, Doctor Strange?" The voice penetrated his mind.

He blinked a few times before looking down and it took everything to not jump back in shock. Anaiah was right in front of him. Her eyes, not the chocolate brown that they usually were, were glowing a dark emerald green.

"That's an interesting spell that you performed." He managed to say.

She tilted her head like a bird. As if she was processing his words before reaching out to take both of his hands in hers (the pain suddenly returned in his hands). He winced a little as he let her guide him through the light filled area.

"It's more of a difficult spell to work with. But It calms me when I've had a particularly rough day." She spoke as she guided him to the bench she was occupying. "You are having a hard time sleeping."

He sat down, being mindful of the teacup and the book that was in between them.

"I am." He grimaced. " My hands…"

She reached for his hands yet again and held them lightly in hers. He blinked a little at the touch again before he could feel his heart beating just a little faster. His hands still trembled; flexing them a little, a dull pain shot through them and he couldn't help but let a hiss of pain go through.

"Hmm…" She hummed. "I'm no doctor, but I could give you a herbal medicine to ease the pain for you."

He looked up at her with surprise and saw that she was smiling at him. Even with her eyes glowing like that, he could see that she genuinely wanted to help him.

"I doubt that it may work." He frowned.

"Oh ye of little faith, Doctor Strange, I will warn you, it's a bitter drink and it will want to make you curl up into a ball, but trust me when I say that it will help you if you are having pain in them." She chuckled.

"This from experience?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yes." She deadpanned. "My monthly cycles give me hell."

Had he been a lesser man, he would have blushed profusely of the mention of the female menstrual cycle, but he was a doctor who have done many surgeries on people and blood isn't a stranger to him. He chuckled at her.

"Well I would prescribe some painkillers…" He smiled.

"Funny, Doctor. Very funny." She said as she let his hands go.

He just barely missed the warmth that was in his hands when she was holding them.

She held up her teacup and offered it to him.

Wasn't that teacup empty earlier?

"Trust me." She spoke.

He hesitantly took the teacup from her hands, into his own trembling ones, and looked into the cup. It was a deep red color that was similar to the color of blood. He looked up at her and she motioned for him to take a drink.

He took a large gulp of it before the harsh bitter taste hit his tongue. He almost dropped the cup but he held onto it. She was right. Clearly this brew must be poison. His face twisted in disgust and he couldn't help but shake his head a bit.

"God, that is disgusting." He said finally giving the cup back to her.

"It may be disgusting, but come morning you will hail this as a miracle brew." She smirked at him.

She then waved her hand and the mini-lights faded out of existence and her eyes returned to the dark chocolate that it was. She nodded at him before taking the book and the teacup before standing up.

"Let me know if you need the brew. I make it quite frequently." She spoke before she left the area.

He sat there for who knows how long before he returned to his chambers. He could still hear the soothing melody in his mind before he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, he didn't feel any pain in his hands. Yes, they still trembled and it was still hard to flex them, but he didn't feel any pain while doing so. He just may have to ask Anaiah for the recipe for the drink she made.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Here is another chapter for you guys. I'm churning these out like hot cakes. I wanted to address the pain in Stephen's hands as it seemed to be the common theme in the movie that he can't use them that much. But with Anaiah's 'miricle' poison brew, he may be able to tolerate the pain a bit more now. Some of you guys are curious on what Anaiah's relics are in the previous chapter, but trust me, they are pretty cool. Anaiah isn't a stone cold woman in this story. She's just a little distant (save for some people that she get's along with: Mordo, Wong, and the Ancient one to name a few) but she has a reason to be. I'm thinking that the next chapter will be Anaiah's chapter just so that you can see who she is and where she comes from. But that is up to you guys. _**PLEASE LEAVE DETAILED REVIEWS!**_ If you give me detailed reviews, I will churn out more chapters. There's not enough reviews from the previous chapter (i'm not surprised, I'm literally posting a chapter day to day...) so there's no Shout outs today. See you guys in the next chapter!

 _ **Question Time!:**_ Would you guys like to have a chapter of Anaiah's origin? Should I switch from Stephen's POV to Anaiah's POV every so often? Or would you rather have everything from Stephen's POV?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING! :D**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**The Book Keeper**_

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4**_

Stephen landed onto the floor with a painful grunt. Mordo was above him chuckling. He just have been a bit distracted when Mordo got him in a tight spot then threw him to the ground. He let out a heavy breath as he laid there. Looking at Mordo with a bit of contempt.

"You seem distracted, my friend." Mordo chuckled.

"It's that Book Keeper." Stephen admitted.

Since that night a week ago, he had barely seen her around. But every night before he retired to bed, he would see that bitter brew that helped with the pain in his hands, sitting warmly on the side table near his bed. It made his stay here in Kamar-taj a bit easier. He had wanted to thank her for the brew, but he couldn't seem to find her. He would catch glimpses of her. Her Hair in a bun, a swish of her green and silver robes, a glint of her glasses before she would disappear on him.

"Oh?" Mordo asked as he offered a hand to help Stephen up.

Stephen took the hand and Mordo helped him up.

"I think she's been avoiding me." Stephen spoke as they decided to cool down with katas.

"Anaiah isn't the most social woman here. She generally keeps to herself most of the time." Mordo shrugged.

"I didn't peg her as someone who actively avoids social interaction." Stephen said as he let out a slow breath to calm his heart.

"Not if you've known her for a long time. The Ancient One took her under her wing. Many students who have been here longer than she was, never mind her being a child at the time, they resent her a little. Being trained by the Ancient one is of the highest honor." Mordo explained.

"She's being trained by the Ancient one?" Stephen inquired.

"Not anymore. Anaiah wanted to forge her own path of the Mystic Arts when she turned 17. The Ancient one allowed her to do just that." Mordo explained.

"So not only is she a Book Keeper and a Guard, she was an apprentice?" He asked.

"Not in a traditional sense. But similar. I know not what The Ancient One taught her, but Anaiah is a strong Sorceress." Mordo replied.

"That doesn't explain why she avoids some of the social groups here." Stephen spoke.

"She is generally a private person. She will warm up to you eventually." Mordo gave a sly look to Stephen.

"Warm up to me?" Stephen replied.

"I have spoken with Anaiah not to long ago. She tells me that though you are struggling to learn everything here, she believes that you have potential." Mordo chuckled.

"Potential?" He replied.

"From the mouth of the dear friend that I have known for the longest time, that is great praise." Mordo smiled at Stephen.

This just increased the mystery that is surrounding the Book Keeper.

* * *

Stephen walked into the Library to return a couple of spell books, and hoping to see The Book Keeper. The words of Mordo echoed in his mind.

Anaiah believes that he had great potential? Potential for what? She is just as mysterious as The Ancient one. He placed the books at the desk and looked around. Wong didn't seem to be here, but he couldn't see any hide or hair of the Book Keeper. At least until her hear something.

"Let me go!" The voice of Anaiah rang out.

"Look, I just want this particular volume of books." Another voice spoke out. It was male.

"And I told you, You haven't even passed a novice's level of magic to even read these books." Anaiah spoke out.

"For Christ's sake, give me the damn books." The male voice rang out.

"No."

Stephen heard a punch ringing out and he acted fast. He went behind the desk as he heard signs of a struggle.

"Bitch!"

"I warned you."

He saw a dark green light shine behind a book case and he made a turn and saw Anaiah with a feral look on her face and a man laying on the floor. What really shocked Stephen was that she had a giant scythe that is in her hands.

It was rather sinister and it glowed a deep green color. He could hear whisperings from it and it intimidated him a little bit.

"Now. I will give you a choice, you can leave this place and Kamar-taj for good, forget that this place even existed, go back to the world that knows nothing, or I can slay you here and now. No one will abuse the use of the Mystic Arts while I'm around." She snarled.

"You wouldn't!" the man trembled.

"Try me." She smirked cruelly.

Silence echoed throughout the Library.

"Okay…Okay you win. I'll leave." The man finally conceded.

"I'm glad you decided wisely. I'll have someone pack your bags." She said as she made a swing of her scythe and she placed it onto her back.

The man scrambled back and got up to turn around, facing Stephen. He recognized the man. In the dining hall, he would gloat that he would reach Master status quickly and would be part of the Masters. But that doesn't seem to be.

He tripped and ran out of the library. Stephen felt nothing for the man, he may be able to bend the rules a little bit, but to outright break them he would get kicked out. He turned around and saw Anaiah breathing slowly. The large scythe was glowing a faint green now and it seemed to be…pulsing?

He took in the details of the scythe. It was rather large, towering over Anaiah's small frame, the handle was pure silver with ivy etchings into it, the pommel at the end of it seemed to have an ancient word etched into it. He looked at the head of the blade itself and saw a silver wolf mask on both sides with glowing markings on it. What was curious was that it seemed to have a large gold gear protruding between them. The eyes of it were glowing a soft green unlike the violent green that was shining earlier. The Blade was thick and curved and it looked deadly sharp.

"Anaiah?" Stephen spoke hesitantly.

She opened her eyes and saw Stephen there. She had look of a startled deer, but then hid it behind a mask of indifference.

"Hello Doctor. I'm sorry you had to see that." She spoke before looking up the the wolf mask of the Scythe and glaring at it.

"I could have handled myself just fine." She growled.

The Scythe pulsed loudly, like a heartbeat, and Strange could hear the strange whisperings from it.

"Yeah, well you don't have to show up every time I'm in a confrontation." She frowned.

Another pulse and then silence. The glowing of the scythe disappeared.

"What a pain." She frowned.

Stephen noticed that her left eye was starting to swell. He walked up to her and reached out to her face, his training kicking in. She looked surprised that he had her face in his trembling hands, but never said a word.

"You probably need to ice it for a while. Did he hit you hard?" He asked as he tentatively and lightly pressed where the swelling is.

"It's nothing I can't handle." She flinched and backed away.

"Not the first time I've been in a confrontation, and certainly not the last." She said as she waved her hand, the fallen books lifting up and being put back onto the shelves effortlessly.

"You should tell the Ancient One." He suggested.

"Oh trust me, nothing is quiet in Kamar-Taj for long. I'm pretty sure the Ancient One already knows about what happened." she said as she walked away.

He followed her by her side. He looked at the Scythe strapped to her back and spoke.

"So…this is your relic?" He asked.

"One of them, yes. The Reaper of Souls. It's commonly known as Death's Scythe." She explained rather painfully. "I call it Ebony."

Stephen had to stop in his tracks.

"Wait, that is Death's Scythe?" He asked in awe.

His mind is just reeling. There was no possible way that Death is an actual entity…could it?

"It's not _actually '_ Death's Scythe', but it's one of it's titles." She sighed as she placed herself beside the front desk.

"How exquisite…and interesting." He spoke as he reached out to touch the blade, but the blade suddenly glowed green and pulsed like a heartbeat.

"It's saying, 'Don't touch me.' Please don't touch my relic." She said as she reached back and flicked the wolf mask with her finger. "And please don't insult the good doctor."

"It's sentient?" He asked as the Scythe pulsed again.

"Yes. And it's an obnoxious relic. Always going on about how many centuries it has been locked up and how boring it is right now." Anaiah chuckled.

"It's beautiful." He spoke honestly.

The Scythe pulsed again, this time a soothing beat was coming from it.

"It's saying thank you," She chuckled, "At least someone acknowledges her beauty. Her words not mine."

Stephen cracked a smile before he spoke again.

"You have been avoiding me." He spoke, and he noticed her body stiffening.

"I've been busy." She spoke as she turned to him. "My life doesn't revolve around you, Doctor Strange."

"Really? Then why have you been avoiding me?" He asked.

She looked up into his eyes and looked to the side. She then started to fiddle with her fingers. A nervous tic for her, he assumed.

"Ive just been busy with getting more books for the Library. I have to make sure that everything is in it's proper place." she spoke looked down.

"I have a feeling that that's not it." He spoke up.

She sighed and fell into silence.

Stephen decided to speak again, he didn't want her to be uncomfortable in this place that she pretty much considers home.

"I wanted to thank you for the brew that you've been giving me every night. It's more nasty than cough syrup, but it helps with the pain." He said honestly.

She had a light blush on her face, Stephen found it rather cute.

"You are welcome. I can't do anything for repairing the damage that is in your hands, I may know hundreds of healing spells, but mending bones and nerves out of my league." She spoke softly. "I'm sorry that I can't do anything more for you. But I can help you as much as I am able."

That hit Stephen like a punch to the gut. Here he was, a once great neurosurgeon, with an ego the size of New York, and Narcissism that spat karma back into his life because of his distracted driving, the loss of his hands and his career, here In Kamar-taj, with the intent to go back to his career a new man, it all deflated.

This woman in front of him, goes out of her way to help him, she didn't have to do so. Hell, his need to heal his hands through the Mystic Arts and leave this place behind. He felt…humbled by her sincerity.

She wanted to help him. Yes, the Ancient One is helping him as well, so is Mordo and even Wong to an extent, but those were the only three that he can think of that can help him. But for Anaiah, a Book Keeper that keeps to herself and would seemingly rather stay in the Library than be out and about, wanted to help him…he couldn't help be feel…accepting.

"I would greatly appreciate your assistance to help me, Anaiah." He said honestly. "If you would be able to that is."

She looked up at him and gave him a small smile and nodded.

"You have potential Doctor Strange. If you will allow me to, I can help you. There is many branches of the Mystical Arts that will take a long time to get through if you wish to expand yourself and your mind to all possibilities." She said straightening up.

"I honestly don't know why, but The Ancient One accepted you here for a reason. I personally didn't see it at first." She wrinkled her nose a little. "But if she can let you stay here in spite of your past, then I can accept that too." She smile a little.

"Now, If you will excuse me, I really should ice my eye." She said finally before turning away.

In all his years, up throughout his career and to this point, save for Christine, no one would have helped him because of his self-absorbed ego and narcissism. But Anaiah who barely knows him, was willing to help him with his studying and practice of the Mystic Arts. He had a lot to think about it.

* * *

"I think he's accepting my help." Anaiah spoke with the Ancient one.

The Ancient one turned to see the young woman who seemed to have grown up in front of her. She had a bruise on her left eye, luckily the one who tried forcing his way to learn the Mystical Arts has been cast out. There was no need for another Kaecillius. Not on her watch.

"This is good. I am thankful that you would want to help Doctor Strange." The Ancient One Spoke.

"There's something about him, Master…I can't put my finger on it. I keep thinking that he should give up this quest, but something…something is coming from him that I'm a little unsettled about." She responded.

The Ancient One smiled gently at her once-apprentice. Anaiah had come a long way from where she once was. A little girl with no hope in her eyes, no memory of her past before she was on the doorstep of Kamar-taj, a young starving little girl with a passion for learning and a hunger to prove herself worthy. Now the woman in front of her, is now a woman of great strength of mind, of tactical analysis, of hard work to bring her to the title Master of the Mystic Arts, she missed the young girl who would excitedly come to her showing off the new spell that she had learned, the girl who she would comfort in the night when darkness would haunt her thoughts and mind, the girl who she made sure she can defend herself in a life or death situation, the woman in front of her was one of her proudest achievements.

She turned down Kaecillius' offer to join him. Even though he was a fellow apprentice with her, she knew somehow that Kaecillius was corrupt, much to the Ancient One's dismay.

"What is it that is unsettling you, Anaiah?" She asked.

"I don't know…I just know that Stephen Strange is somehow pivotal for us. For the future." She looked up at the Ancient One with question in her eyes.

"Is that what you fear?" The Ancient one asked.

No…she didn't see fear in her eyes. She saw resolution.

"No. If you believe that Stephen Strange is someone to put our faith in, then I will do just as well. You chose him for a reason…for what, I don't know, but I know that you never have been wrong before." She smiled up at her.

The Ancient One smiled sadly. Anaiah may have chosen her path, but she can see that her path intertwines with Stephen Strange's. She could hope that the two of them will help each other. Along with their other friends, hopefully things will turn out for the better.

"Master...did you believe that i would follow Kaecillius?" She asked.

The Ancient One looked at Anaiah. She had a little doubt in her eyes and was looking like the young scared girl that she once was. Why ask this question now?

"No. Why?" She asked.

"It's just that...Kaecillius had spoke of immortality...I'm not interested in it, but why would he ask me to join him?" She asked.

"You are a strong sorceress, Anaiah. You are strong of will and of heart. You know the difference between right and wrong, and you know the grey areas between light and dark. Kaecillius wants someone of your standard with him. On his side." She spoke.

"Yes, but I know that his side is wrong." Anaiah spoke softly.

"Then you have already chosen your answer." The Ancient One walked up to her and placed her hand on Anaiah's cheek tenderly. "You are strong, Anaiah. Don't let anyone take you down because of their lust for power."

"I promise." She smiled back at her.

The Ancient One dismissed her and the young woman took off back to the Library. She closed her eyes and saw a picture of one of many future. She hoped that it would come to pass.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Another day, another chapter for you guys. You got to see one of Anaiah's relics, you'll probably see the other when I'm getting to the fight scene between Kaecillius' cronies. XD Maybe, I'm not sure. Take a wild guess on where i based the scythe off of. And You got to see the Ancient One's POV as well. Tilda Swinton did a good job acting. I really enjoyed it. And we got to see some developing feelings between Stephen and Anaiah. XD So i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. remember to leave _**detailed reviews**_ so i can put more chapters up! On to the _**Shout Outs!**_

 _ **Ixsa:**_ I wanted to touch on the pain in his hands because it's a constant theme throughout the movie. But in the middle of the movie, when he surrendered to the Mystic Arts, using his hands seemed moot at the point and he was able to use gestures from there on out. But I also added it to make him seem more human.

 _ **JinxWriter:**_ Yes, Anaiah may seem cold in many things (she just a little anti-social as she likes to stay in her library), and misunderstood is one of many thing about her. She is a great sorceress but she has some insecurities. XD But that will improve as the story goes on. And yes, Kaecillius will appear in this story. You can't have Doctor Strange without the villain right? XD

 _ **Superdani4Ever:**_ Yes, I try to give my readers heart attacks. XD As for the tea that she made for him, trust me, you don't wanna know what's in it. XD Glad you enjoy the story so far. :)

 _ **TAL21:**_ Yeah for the Shout Outs! So there's some stuff taken care of and I hope you liked Anaiah's relic. It's pretty sweet looking too. XD I hope to hear more from you readers soon and I want to see what you think of this story! See you guys in the next chapter!

 _ **Question Time:**_ What is your favorite part of the Doctor Strange movie and why do you like it so much?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING! :D**_


	5. Chapter 5

The Book Keeper

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5**_

A shout of alarm echoed through the mirror dimension training ground and a small explosion followed after.

It was a good thing that the Ancient One told Stephen about the Mirror Dimension or he would have made some serious errors. When Anaiah caught him using the sling ring to 'borrow' some books from the library, the Book Keeper was in total shock and anger when he was caught. Luckily Wong managed to calm her down a bit. While using the mirror Dimension, he could use spells to his heart's content.

"You are not concentrating enough!" A female voice followed.

"I am concentrating! I'm putting everything I've got into this spell." A male shot back.

"Illusions are not supposed to explode. They are supposed to look solid and fool anyone who comes across them unless they pass through them." The female explained.

Stephen was looking at Anaiah with slight contempt. She was looking annoyed and crossing her arms at him.

"If it's so easy, why don't you make one?" Stephen glared at her.

"Look, I'm not asking you to create a full fledged background illusion to fool someone. I'm trying to teach you how to make a copy of yourself. It's not that hard. If you want to fool even a child, you have to focus. Let the magic flow through you." She explained.

"Can you demonstrate for me one more time?" He asked rubbing his hand against his face for the upteenth time.

"Okay. Watch carefully and closely." She spoke as she got into a wide stance.

After taking a deep breath, she slid one foot to close her legs, lifted her arms horizontally, and spread them apart. A golden glow surrounded her and multiple copies of herself manifested away from her. Ten copies is what she made. All of them moving independently from each other. He couldn't tell which was which, as they decided to switch places with each other multiple times.

"Now do you see what I have done?" The copies spoke up together in unison.

Stephen observed the copies movements and facial expressions. He couldn't tell which one is real and which one was not. When he was reading a book of spells, a page of illusion spells seemed interesting to learn...if it wasn't for the fact that when he kept trying to make an illusion of himself, it would promptly blow up in his face.

"I don't understand...can't you make your illusions solid?" He asked.

"You can." The copies replied together.

"Although making a solid _clone_ isn't as easy as you think it is." Another copy spoke.

"We can work on making Solid Clones later." A copy spoke up.

"But right now we are trying to make you have an illusion of yourself." Another piped up.

He had a feeling that Anaiah is somewhat sadistic.

So he tried again. He had the spell in his mind. The gestures he mimicked that Anaiah had done, he performed with exact precision.

"You are trying to make an _extension_ of yourself. You are _projecting_ yourself to confuse others. Think of it as...a hologram." She then explained as her copies disappeared one by one in a fading golden glow.

A projection. An idea formed in his mind. He took a deep breath and brought his trembling hands together in focus.

Gathering up the energies needed, he pushed the energies through him and in front of him was his image. He imagined it like he would a projector on a screen for a movie. If he could hold that image like he could it just might work. The projection rippled and wavered for a moment and Stephen thought it might backfire on him, but then it held.

After a minute or so holding his position, he dropped his arms and observed the projection in front of him. It was a basic rigid stance, as if it was in line in the military, but it was there.

"Good...this one didn't explode." Anaiah spoke as she walked around his projection.

She looked up and down the illusion, to see if there was any flaws that could be detected.

"Hmm, I see no flaws." She spoke as she walked in front of it.

Even though it was an illusion, Stephen felt a little uncomfortable that his illusion self had dead looking eyes.

"Well the physical aspect of this illusion is good, but… it's not alive." She spoke before she reached up to touch it and her hand went through its chest; the projection glowing a dim gold before fading away.

"Alive?" He asked.

"Illusions have to look as if they belong. Putting an Illusion upon yourself is easy enough, you have to project inwards instead of outwards." She spoke before turning to him and suddenly a gold light enveloped her and in front of him was...himself.

He blinked a couple of times.

"As you can see, I can mimic you in many ways." Even her voice changed to his own timbre.

The fake's gestures were similar to his in many ways. But the only thing that bother him was the fake's hands. They were not trembling. He couldn't help but clench his damaged hands painfully. His jaw muscles tightened and he glared at the Fake.

"Unfortunately, my acting skills for the male gender suck, and I can't really pull of the masculine aspects that you have." The copy spoke before it dissolved into Anaiah once more.

"What good is illusions if you can't use them?" He muttered.

"At least you can make at least one without it exploding on you." She pointed out.

"What is this about clones?" He asked diverting the subject.

"Oh no, I'm not teaching you to make Shadow Clones until you get the Illusion Clones down, and then Background illusions. Once you do, we can move onto the next step." She said as she walked up to him and flicked his forehead.

Did she really do that?

"Now, let's take a break, my good doctor." She said as she turned and created a portal to leave the Mirror dimension.

He followed closely a little miffed that they were not continuing the studies and training that he wanted.

"Why are we stopping? Shouldn't we continue what I'm learning? I just made a copy for crying out loud." He spoke to her.

"You look tired, Doctor. Tell me, haven't you been sleeping lately?" She turned to him as she stopped walking.

"Why does that matter?" He asked annoyed.

"You can't learn and perform the Mystic Arts if you keep putting off sleep. Trust me. I know from experience. For now, just focus on meditation and leave the books and studying be for now." She said as she looked up at him with concerned eyes.

"I understand your need to expand your knowledge of the Mystic Arts, but please...you also need your rest." She said as she sighed.

"She is right, Doctor." Stephen heard the voice of The Ancient One.

"Master!" Anaiah spoke happily.

"Anaiah." The Ancient nodded at her before turning to him. "You have been hard at work. It is time for you to rest your mind and spirit for the time being. If you push yourself too much, you will exhaust yourself." The Ancient One chuckled.

"I-" Stephen was about to say that he was just fine and that he can continue onwards, but then he felt something wash over him. His body felt heavy, and he suddenly felt like he had been stomped on by an elephant.

"I...need to sit down." He stuttered out before he stumbled to sit on a nearby bench.

"And that is precisely why I asked to take a break. Making Illusions is no joke. You will get tired." Anaiah smirked at him.

She goaded him on. She knew that he would get tired after performing so many times trying to make a projection of himself. He wondered if he really should just leave after all this time.

"I'm surprised Anaiah, teaching him to make illusions. You normally don't take on students." The Ancient one chided the younger woman.

"Well, Doctor Strange here was stubborn, so why not? It is good for him. And It will help him in the long run." Anaiah chuckled.

Stephen was starting to wonder if the two women were conspiring against him. He closed his eyes, leaning against the pillar that the bench was up against and decided maybe he should take a short break. He'll continue his practicing later. He'll get the Illusion Arts down, one way or another.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Geez, all of a sudden I have almost a hundred followers on this story. Though not many reviews. XD If you can guess where I got the Idea for Illusion spells from, you get a cookie. XD As Much as I can do to keep this story from Stephen's POV, I'm going to jump POVs and hopefully give you others POVs as well. I'm thinking perhaps the next chapter will be strictly from the Ancient One's POV. Just so that you guys can see through her eyes a bit and see where Anaiah comes into play. Now, In case you guys are wondered where I'm going with this story this is eventual Stephen/OC. It won't be happening anytime soon, but it will get there. And I will also tell you because my limited memory of the movie has diminished a little bit (it's been a week already and I can remember the major parts of the Movie, but the smaller detailed point are evening me) I just may have to go tot he movie again just so that I can get this story going again. As for the short chapters, I'd rather make short chapters for the story instead of making long fillers until the movie comes out on DVD. Also, Anaiah's mysterious past will come out in the form of the Ancient one's POV, but it will be just as mysterious as before. Trust me, you guys will like where She is coming from. :) Anyways, onto the _**SHOUT OUTS!**_

 _ **ZabuzasGirl:**_ Eventually there will be a flashback of Kaecilius and Anaiah, but that won't be anytime soon...ish. XD Thank you for reading this story and I hope you will enjoy it's ride.

 _ **Superdani4Ever:**_ Well, for some reason I like my charters with pretty neat weapons like scythes. It's just something that is fascinating to see the mechanics f one. XD Just wait till she uses it in a fight, then things will get fun. XD Eventually I'll add romance to it, but that won't be for some time. XD And The reason why Anaiah never really calls the Ancient One 'Mother' in this instance, is that she is a respectable woman. She looks up to the ancient one as a mother figure, but never outright calling her that. It's like calling your family friend of your parents 'Mom' or 'Dad', in a sense. At least that's how I see it.

 _ **Chelsea Rogers**_ : Yes, Yes, I admit it...I'm referencing Tomb Raider. Trust me, I played the game and it was amazing. I just figured that I would put it in her because why not. It works, and it fits a bit into the timeline. I have no regrets whatsoever. XD

 _ **TAL21:**_ That's it for the Shout Outs. I hope you guys will leave _**awesome**_ and _**detailed Reviews!**_ Because Reviews are my drug and I need my fix, lol. XD Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed this little chapter. We'll be seeing Anaiah hang out with Baron and Stephen a little bit, and I can't wait to show how Anaiah and Baron play off on each other. It will be adorable. XD As for a small chapter of a flashback between Kaecillius and Anaiah, I'm planning on writing it but don't anticipate it for a while. XD And seriously, almost one hundred followers on the _**Doctor Strange**_ fanfiction. In less than a week...I must be superwoman. XD See you guys in the next chapter!

 ** _Question Time:_** If you were to have any relic (be it made up or an actual relic from the Marvel Universe) what would it be and what would it look like(if you were to make your own relic)?

 _ **Keep on reading and Writing!**_


	6. Chapter 6

The Book Keeper

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 6**_

 _ **Ten Years ago…**_

 _Anaiah was going through the Library organizing some books that the Librarian had left her to do. Some of the students have been leaving books around and that irritated her. Most of the scrolls, tomes and grimoires were ANCIENT! They have to be taken care of._

 _Even though she was still an apprentice of The Ancient One (even if Anaiah said that she would forge her own path to the Mystic arts) she wanted to excel. So she travels as much as she could around the world (within reason of course) to find many other ways of the Mystic Arts._

 _She put a book away when she hear the voice._

 _"Anaiah." A male voice called out._

 _She smiled slightly. It was her fellow apprentice, Kaecilius. He had come here to Kamar-Taj a few years ago looking for solace, answers, and peace. The Ancient one had welcome him and opened his mind of the possibilities of the world. He took to the studies and worked alongside her. However annoyed she was that another apprentice would take her Master's time away from her, but she hid it well._

 _"There you are. Stuck in this dusty old place." He chuckled as he walked up to her._

 _Kaecilius was a tall man, he was wearing yellow and grey robes, signifying that he was a Master of the Mystic Arts. Just as she is. Though she prefered Green and Silver as opposed to the traditional colors. His blond turning grey hair was pulled in a low ponytail and his easy smile as he leaned onto a bookcase, crossing his arms he observed her putting the books away._

 _"Don't go there. You know I have a job to do and it's to make sure this place is organized." She glared playfully at him._

 _He raised his arms in surrender._

 _"No, No, I'm just saying that you should be outside more. Get a little sun. You have been looking pale lately." He spoke as he crossed the floor to where she is._

 _She was shorter than him, obviously. She didn't like the fact that she was short. Probably because she was stunted of her growth when she was a child and starving on the street for who knows how long… Her memory is funny that way._

 _"I know that, but I have to put these books away-" She was cut short when Kaecilius took her by the arm and dragged her out to the courtyard, her fighting and struggling all the way._

 _"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" She repeated over and over again, but the fellow apprentice didn't give up._

 _"Anaiah…" He chided her looking down at her gently._

 _She stopped struggling and sighed._

 _"Fine, you dragged me out here...now what?' She crossed her arms in annoyance._

 _He merely pointed towards beyond the wall of Kamar-Taj and she followed the direction he was pointing to._

 _The sun was setting, and it took her breath away. The haze of dust that covered Nepal beyond Kamar-Taj made it look as if it was fog. The colors of pink, orange and red filled the sky. And it colored the mountains in a pink glow. She was captured by the sight. She knew that every sunrise and sunset was different, but sometimes the simple beauty of them never ceases to amaze her._

 _"Isn't it beautiful? It caught my eye and I figured that you would enjoy it." He looked down at he smiling gently._

 _Anaiah blushed a little bit, though Kaecilius was much older than her by 20 years, she couldn't help but admire his handsome face. She always did enjoy looking at the world's handsome and beautiful people, it was something of a hobby for her._

 _"I appreciate it." She smiled back at him before she turned to watch the sunset with him._

 _ **Present...**_

Anaiah woke up slowly. The memory was painful to her heart. Before Kaecilius began to turn to the darker sides of the Mystic Arts, she and him, along with Mordo and Wong, were well known Masters. They were powerful in their own rights and they were good friends...then Kaecillius learned of the Dark Dimension.

She knew his past. He lost his son, which is always hard on a parent, but not long after he lost his wife. She knew that he was someone to live for something, but when he became a Master, he suddenly turned to read the darker materials of the library.

This unsettled her greatly...she wanted to see that he was just expanding his mind of other branches of Magic...but she could see the changes that slowly took over him. He began talking to her of other dimensions. Many alternate realities. She knew of them, of course, she was the Ancient One's apprentice, but she knew the secrets of her past. Many would be appalled at these secrets, but Anaiah knew that it was a sacrifice she had to made.

Then he came to her one day speaking of immortality. This wasn't the gentleman that took her to see the sunsets and sunrises, the man who made sure she ate food when she was absorbed into her own studies, the man who she seemed to develop something of affection to him, no...this was a man who became...obsessed. He became more cruel, bitter, and apathetic. He had gained a following in Kamar-Taj. She brought up this with The Ancient One and it wasn't a pretty sight.

 _"You cannot be serious!?" Kaecilius asked in disbelief._

 _"I cannot let you stay here any longer, Kaecilius...you have changed...and it isn't a good change." The Ancient One spoke painfully._

 _Anaiah was standing to the side with Mordo. Both were shocked and appalled. Kaecilius was a wonderful student and like a brother to them. And The Ancient One treated him like a son to her. But now it has come to a head. Many of the people that Kaecilius had spoken to, has been questioning that why shouldn't they obtain immortality? They have the secrets of the Mystic Arts, why not go beyond that?_

 _"Is it not a right to expand the possibilities?" Kaecilius mocked._

 _"What you are proposing is never to be done. You cannot bring back your wife and son, Kaecilius." The Ancient One said softly._

 _Anaiah saw the mask breaking on Kaecilius' face. She saw the hurt, the sadness, the anger...and it rose to the forfront._

 _"I came to you to understand why my Wife and Son's deaths happened. And I wanted to be able to bring them back to me but you are standing in my way…" Kaecilius spoke darkly._

 _Anaiah sucked in a sharp breath, her heart broke. Death is a natural thing. Even she knew that she wouldn't live forever like the Ancient One, but she would accept it if it would come to her._

 _"You cannot stop death from happening Kaecilius… it is a natural thing that comes in many forms. Why are you fearing it?" The Ancient One asked._

 _"Why are you stopping me? Do I not deserve the answers to why this happened to me?" Kaecilius spoke coldly._

 _Anaiah closed her eyes and turned away to leave. She could hear the faint words of the Ancient one banishing him from Kamar-Taj as she left._

 _Before Kaecilius left however, he came to her._

 _She stood ramrod straight with cold eyes. The man in front of her was a stranger. A man bent on the Darker Arts and he told her of his plan._

 _She was told of the Dark Dimension and that the Inter-dimensional being, Dormanmu would grant him everything he ever wanted, including immortality._

 _"Come with me, Anaiah, perhaps you can unlock the secrets of your past." He smiled cruelly at her._

 _She rejected him. And told him that if he didn't leave, she would kill him herself._

 _"My offer stands…" He spoke before he and a multitude of others left with him._

Her past was a sore spot for her. She had no memories before she came to Kamar-Taj. She couldn't even remember how she came to Tibet and how she got there. The only thing linking her to her past was a necklace.

She turned her head to the side table where the necklace lies...it was a leather necklace with a single pendent on it. The pendent was a silver ore and it was molded into when seemed like a silver coin the size of an american fifty cent piece; engraved onto it was a tree of life. On the back however, was old norse engravings.

 _"Never lose sight of who you are."_

There was no name. There was nothing other than that specific wording that hit her heart so very deeply. Perhaps she will eventually find her past, but until then, she will wear the necklace when she feels the need to.

Lately though, since she has been training Stephen Strange, she had the faintest notion that she should wear it.

The sun was rising, she noted when she turned her head towards her windowstill. She rose up and grabbed the necklace and placed it around her neck. The pendant fitting snugly in the hollow of her throat, the leather warm against her neck. She felt invigorated as she stared out into the distance.

Something was changeing. She didn't know what it could be, but she knew that since Stephen Strange's appearance to Kamar-Taj, she felt...hope. It has been revolving around him. Every little change had started with him. Perhaps...this change is something that she could welcome.

"Anaiah…" She heard the voice of Mordo behind her.

"Hurry up! It's time to put our Doctor Strange though the wringer." He smirked at her through her door of her chambers.

She turned to the sunrise and then back at him again smiling.

"I'll be there…"

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Okay, there is some interaction between Kaecilius and Anaiah, though in past tense. Sorry, no action here. XD So you an see that Kaecillius and Anaiah had some sort of relationship, it didn't really develop into a romantic one, I would say that yes, Anaiah had feelings for Kaecilius, but she didn't act on them because she was so focused on learning more of the Mystic Arts. I really wanted to have something that would connect Anaiah and Kaecilius, so this worked out in a sense. XD You also get to look into a bit of a mysterious past that she has. That hint is in there and I will give you a cookie if you can guess correctly, just a warning, it is not what you think. XD And now I have reached 100 follows on this story, YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! :D Though the follows greatly outweigh the Reviews, I still appreciate you guys. So, no Shout-outs this time, but if I can get at _ **least**_ _**five reviews a chapter**_ , _**detailed of course,**_ I can do my shout outs because i enjoy interacting with my readers. :) See you guys in the next Chapter!

 _ **Question Time!:**_ Given the Timeline of Doctor Strange, what are your theories? I personally believe that it was between a bit before Iron Man 2 and a little after Civil War. If so, what are your thoughts on it?

 _ **Keep on Reading and Writing!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**The Book Keeper**_

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7**_

"Ouch!"

"Don't even think about it." Anaiah glared at Stephen before she snatched one of the tomes away from him and placed it back onto its rightful place on the shelves.

Stephen rubbed his shoulder (what a punch) and sighed. He wanted to expand his studies. He had managed to pass through novice to apprentice, and in less than three years and even that was a feat for many of his peers, who have been here longer. But, in order to do that, he would have to borrow books from behind the front desk. That would mean getting past Wong, and then Anaiah. Wong wasn't around at the moment, but Anaiah was placing books back, listening to an ipod. The green headphones were in her ears but still managed to get her attention when he tried taking a book out.

"I just needed…" He started to explain but was interrupted.

"No you don't. Take a break. Didn't I hear from the Ancient one that you have been overexerting yourself lately?" She gave him a pointed glare.

"She's exaggerating." Stephen rolled his eyes.

"Nope. Leave the Library, Strange. Go back to bed. Meditate, relax or something." She ordered.

"No." He said as he took a seat at the front desk.

"Suit yourself, But you are not getting your hands on another book for the time being." She spoke as she rubbed her arms.

She was determined to keep him from taking out a book, but he was just as stubborn. He is patient...he can wait her out. So he observed her, placing books away, reading a couple pages before she closed them and putting them on the shelves, all the while singing low enough for him to hear what she is listening to.

" _Follow me down to the river, hey,_

 _Take a drink, It's good_

 _Heaven knows where the water flows_

 _The view from here's no good._

 _Follow me down to the river bed_

 _Into the open waves_

 _Come and cleanse at the water's edge_

 _Wash the stains away."_

She has a rather pretty voice but the words evaded him. Sometimes when he did have a bit of free time, he would observe his friend...well using the term loosely. Anaiah was still a mystery even after he has been here for awhile. She would sing songs that he had never heard of before (there was no radio here in Kamar-Taj, and he would listen to Pandora or Spotify on the computer, so his music was mostly mainstream), but Anaiah's choice in music was more of the underground variety. You don't know about it unless you search for it.

He looked at the Ancient One's book collection. Each of the books has a red gem in the middle. He wondered what secret were hidden in those books. Yes, He has managed to manipulate reality and the Mystic Arts, but he wanted more. He wanted to learn more.

"Don't even think about it." Her voice echoed through his mind.

" _Damn."_ He thought.

"Look, I can understand your need to learn more, but you have to take breaks in between. Just because you now reached apprentice levels, doesn't mean that you triple your workload. Even if you have been getting much, much better at performing spells than you were before." She spoke out.

Granted, he hadn't made anything explode in a while, his mistakes he learned from and he made sure to look over the spells with more detail and engrained it into his mind so that it wouldn't backfire upon him.

"There's a lot to learn, Anaiah. I want to continue this." He spoke up.

"See, I understand what you are going through, but you have to start taking breaks. You will pass out from overexertion and you might get yourself killed if you continue this path." She spoke harshly as she placed two books down in front of him heavily.

"I think I understand my body better than you can, thank you, Anaiah." Stephen shot back.

"I don't think you do. I've seen you use your Astral Form to continue your studies even at night, which is dangerous in of itself if you do it for prolonged periods of time... but you are pushing yourself too hard. What have you got to prove here?" She asked.

That raised his ire. He has been here for three years now, and he has yet to managed to heal his hands to go back to America to continue his career. Granted he has been reading other books to learn more of the Mystic Arts, but he was here for one thing only. Getting his hands healed. Painfully, he clenched his hands into fists.

"You don't know anything about me." He spoke up.

"Oh, yes I do. The arrogant and egotistic Doctor Strange came to Kamar-Taj to look for a miracle cure for his crippled hands, only to find endless possibilities to use the Mystic arts. But He has yet to find such a 'cure'." She mocked him.

"Does it look like I can use your help? It seems to me you have been training me because you took pity on me." Stephen growled at her.

This situation was seemingly familiar.

"Pity?" Anaiah said surprised before she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I have no pity for you, Doctor Strange. You have been pushing yourself too hard right now. And I'm trying to help you." She said calmly.

"Help me? It doesn't seem like it." He chuckled bitterly.

"Look, you should at least be thankful that you are still alive. That car crash could have be a lot worse. You could have been paralyzed, all your bones broken, lost a major organ, or hell, died." She said point-blank. "Yet, you spent your money on experimental procedures and used the last of it to come here for a last ditch effort...all for your hands and your career."

He stood up sharply, his eyes pinning her down. She stood her ground against him. Who does this woman think she is? His therapist? His conscience? She had no right to talk to him like this.

"Do you really think I wanted this?" He spat out, his anger starting to come out.

"I came here to find nothing short of a miracle to fix my hands, and I come across the Mystic Arts to be able to heal them. Yet, the only thing that is in my way, are people like you telling me to take a break." He sneered at her.

"Don't give me that, the consequences of working too hard will come back and take you down. You are a doctor and you should know better. Why not let your past go so that you can move forward?" She glared at him, her eyes flashed a dark green color.

"Like you?" He verbally attacked her. "A woman like you that has no past before she came here? Don't think I never noticed the talk that goes around here. An orphan with no memory of who she is or where she came from? Look who's trying to hold onto the past. Don't think I haven't noticed you looking for memory spells. Desperate for answers?"

The next thing he knew was being tossed out of the Library onto his back against the hard ground with Anaiah's relic pressed against his neck. It was the flat of the blade, but still dangerous nevertheless. The relic was pulsing softly and lowly. How did she managed to make it appear like that so fast?

"You know nothing about me, Stephen Strange...though I still search for answers of my past, it does me not good to dwell on it. I don't let my unknown past define me." She pressed the flat of the blade against his chin. "Now I'm forced to ban you from the Library until further notice."

"You can't do that!" He argued.

"I can and I will. You are on a forced vacation, Doctor Strange, and if I were you, I would think long and hard about the consequences of pushing yourself too far, and forgo the rumors about me." She snarled before she backed away from him and slammed the pommel of the scythe onto the ground, green whips of magic lashed at the doors of the library and symbols glowed.

"Goodbye, _Doctor."_ She sneered before turning around and slamming the library doors shut.

He then realized why this scene was so familiar… it was the same similar things he had said to Christine… Though very different wording was used, the argument was there… He really screwed up this time.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Well, sorry for not updating a chapter of the day. XD But hey, Work can take me out like a freight train. XD If I were you guys, I would listen to 'The River' By Thousand Foot Krutch. I personally think that song fits Stephen pretty damn well and for the Doctor Strange movie in a whole is 'A Different Kind of Dynamite' But Thousand Foot Krutch too. XD Listen to the songs. You will not be disappointed. Trust me. :) Anyways. This chapter i wanted to be a bit of a pivotal point for Stephen and Anaiah's relationship. Stephen Strange has always been a driven man. and I have been reading some fanfiction that depicts him as a man who is afraid of failure. I agree with this. And I'm also taking creative liberties by taking some things from the 2007 animated movie Doctor Strange (I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of him as I was watching it last night and my fangirling bumped up 100 percent. XD) and putting some of the things in there and placing it into this story. The Next chapter will feature Stephen apologizing to Anaiah, but after something goes wrong in Kamar-Taj. Trust me, you'll be surprised by what I'm writing right now. XD Anyways, back on point, Stephen is a man who is afraid of failure. If you look at the movie again (and even the animate one) he take on challenges and he resolves to succeed. In the beginning of the movie, when he saw that the patient still had that bullet in his brain, he resolves to get it out. Granted, it boosted his own ego, but keep in mind, he also was able to save a patients life. When he 'killed' the astral form of the Zealot through the defibrillator, he went back to his fallen enemy to see if he was still alive. Doctors do care for their patients (and depending one who they are) they are still human. Stephen is still human. He took up an oath as a Doctor to _SAVE_ lives. Not kill them. So there's a bit of an internal conflict there for him. Which I loved in the movie (also, being a CNA in the health field, i relate to this one hundred percent). Onwards to the _**Shout Outs!**_

 _ **JinxWriter:**_ Nope. Kaecillius isn't her father. XD Interesting prospect, but you are wrong. Keep guessing. XD

 _ **Superdani4Ever:**_ Yeah, when i read Kaecilius past and how he came to Kamar-Taj, i felt bad for the guy. And Yes, Anaiah had a crush on a guy who is much older than her. XD Hey, I still have crushes on Harrison Ford, Robert Downey Jr., Johnny Depp, and quite a few more older actors. XD So I'm not alone in this. XD

 _ **WhiteKitsune42:**_ So...Close. You are very close. She isn't Loki's daughter (sadly, I would have made it so, but it's much more complicated) XD But seriously, you are almost there. Keep guessing.

 _ **ShannonTheAwesomeOne:**_ IKR!? Doctor Strange Fanfiction is seriously growing right now, and I hope that we can get to 100k status. XD I hope you keep following this story. :)

 _ **TAL21:**_ Well that's it for the _**Shout Outs.**_ I hope you guys liked the bit of conflict in this chapter. The next chapter will come out later tonight once I flesh out the details. I hope to see you guys later and PLEASE LEAVE _**DETAILED REVIEWS!**_ I would love to hear from you guys and heck even point out things in this story that you really liked. I love interacting with you guys and I hope you guys understand that. See you guys later!

 _ **Question Time:**_ Due to controversy, there has been talk of 'white-washing' and how there were hardly any other 'races' in the movie. Having seen the movie and saw the there have been different ecthincinces in the movie as well as The Ancient one being played as a Celtic Ancient one, I personally believe that Performance-wise, hands down the best acting ever. What is your opinion on that?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**The Book Keeper**_

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 8**_

"You fool!" Mordo said harshly before cuffing Stephen upside the head.

He supposed he deserved that. It had been two weeks since he had been banned from the library and only then did Mordo wonder why Stephen wasn't at the library at his usual times was when he found out that Anaiah banned him from the Library for the time being.

"After three years of being here, you should know better than you bringing up a sensitive subject with Anaiah." Mordo glared at the doctor.

"I know. And I'm sorry...i'm just frustrated." Stephen said as he looked down at a scroll (mind you it was a scroll that Mordo gave him to look at the types of elements one can imbue into magics).

"Its that kind of arrogance that gets you into trouble. That and she was right. You have been pushing yourself too hard to learn everything. Yes, we can admit that you have rose through the ranks well, and you have a natural aptitude for the Mystic Arts, but you must understand the consequences of using them too much." Mordo shook his head.

"I don't see what the problem is." Stephen said annoyed.

"Think like a doctor. You have a patient who works too much. You advise said patient to take it easy, but the patient refuses to do so, and suffers physically. He becomes sick more often, taking many antibiotics so that he can keep working, then finally he injures himself performing the duties of work and you order bed rest. But the consequences of the patient pushing themselves too hard, they have health problems." Mordo explained.

That made sense. From a health perspective, the human body can only take so much.

"That is why we Masters of the Mystic Arts take meditation daily to give us relief from the physical, mental, _and_ spiritual exercises that we put ourselves through. You have done well since you have arrived Stephen, but you also have to take care of yourself as well. Which is also why Anaiah and The Ancient one forced you to take a meditative break." Mordo glared.

Stephen felt chastised. He felt like he was back in College again. He could vaguely remember days when he studied his ass off and forgot to eat for days on end until he passed out from exhaustion. Of course, he graduated with highest honors and his career took off splendidly, but if it wasn't for some people who cared for him (Christine and his family, as much as it pains him to think about it) he would never have gotten to where he was.

Here in the other hand, he was acting like he once was in College. Except...the stakes are slightly higher. It was a sobering thought. Here, the Mystic Arts not only takes a toll on one's self physically, but _spiritually._ As strange as it sounds, he should probably take the advice of his friends and mentor to heart.

After keeping to his thoughts for a while, he spoke out loud.

"I should probably apologize." He said softly.

"That would be the best thing for you. Anaiah can hold a grudge, but if you're sincere in your apology, she may accept it." Mordo sighed. "Come along, She must be at one of the training grounds with Wong at the moment."

Stephen nodded before following Mordo out to the training grounds. After a few minutes of walking, he heard something. It sounded like...screaming?

"Do you hear that?" Stephen asked looking at Mordo with a concerned look.

"I do...its coming from that direction." Mordo spoke as they both picked up the pace.

The screaming and shouting was frantic. They had arrived at the training ground and saw chaos. Many young and old students, novices and masters alike were running to safety. Save for three who was in the middle of all the commotion. There was a giant shield spell that was Anaiah's signature green. The Spell was the size of a small house with a kaleidoscope of alchemic circles inside and symbols that is keeping someone, or some _thing,_ out of Kamar-Taj.

There was a strong and evil wind that was bellowing from the Shield; Stephen could smell rotting, burning, and decaying flesh along with...brimstone?

Wong and the Elderly Master Hamir were on either side of her with their arms and hands out stretched. Giving support to her so that the spell can hold.

Anaiah had only one arm and hand outstretched to keep her barrier up, but in her other hand was a large gleaming white cross. She was shouting out words of an old language to keep the shield up, but something kept ramming on the other side, making the shield crack.

Anaiah shouted orders to Wong and Hamir and Wong gave her a startled look of ' Don't Do It.'.

"What is she doing?" Mordo shouted over the commotion.

Anaiah threw her hand down and _ran at the cracking shield._ She raised the hand that had the white cross and slammed it into the green shield. Something... _unnatural_ roared in pain on the other side. The Green Shield was slowly turning white from Anaiah's cross. The bright light coming from Anaiah was pushing back something that was on the other side of that shield. And It was trying to push back.

Stephen could see it. And it was something that he knew that wouldn't be erased from his memory anytime soon. He saw a demonic red eye looking through the shield. It chilled him to the core.

 _"_ _What...what is that?"_ Stephen couldn't help but wonder.

He heard Anaiah scream and slammed her shining cross into the shield again and the eye disappeared.

"CLOSE IT! DAMN IT CLOSE IT!" She cried out and used her free hand once more to hold up the new white shield.

Wong and Hamir sweeped their arms in circular gestures, the portal gradually shrinking smaller and smaller. But just as the portal was about to close something from the other side shot a dark mass at Anaiah.

Stephen felt like he was watching her in slow-motion. She was blasted backwards as her body bent back into an arc, flying through the air. She hit the ground in a deafening crack before she slid to a stop.

The chaotic wind and noise was suddenly stopped and Stephen took action. He ran towards Anaiah's prone body and kneeled down. She was on her side in a semi-fetal position, her eyes were closed and her glasses were nowhere to be seen. He placed a hand to her pulse point on her neck and felt that she was alive...but only barely. Then he gently rolled her to her back and saw it. On her side, was a wide, deep, and bleeding gash that reached from the bottom of her left rib cage down to her left hip. The worse part was that the wound was turning from grey to black.

"Oh God…" Stephen breathed.

Wong, Hamir, and Mordo reach them and Hamir spoke.

"I will fetch the Ancient One." He spoke softly before turning away.

"We have to get her to a hospital. She's bleeding out." Stephen said as he took off the top part of his robe and ripped it into pieces to staunch the bleeding.

"We can't take her to a Hospital, Doctor. Not with injuries like this." Wong spoke as he kneeled on the other side of Anaiah.

He lifted his hand over the wound, which seemed to be turning from red to a black and red glow that came from his hands. He placed the hand on the rapidly blood drenched fabric that was coming from Anaiah's injuries.

He continued to put pressure on the wound to make sure that she won't bleed out.

"We don't have the technology here to even help her." Stephen spoke as his mind switched to his Doctor Mode. "We need blood for her, a sterile environment, something that can help her…"

"It won't help her." He heard the voice of the Ancient One.

Stephen looked up and saw the woman walking briskly to where they were at. She looked down at Anaiah and Stephen swore that he saw worry and sadness flit across her face.

"I have stopped the bleeding, but we have to get her to the healing chambers. I can't do anything more for her." Wong spoke as he stood up.

Stephen didn't need to be told twice. He picked up Anaiah, who seemed to weigh very little to him, and The Ancient One ordered him to follow her.

* * *

The Healing Chambers were not far from where the Training Grounds were. But the Healers (Stephen prefered the term Doctor, it sounded more professional), were already in a flurry of activity when they entered.

There were a few novices who had come her from the incident to have minor injuries looked at. But one Healer took a look at Anaiah and shouted for them to follow her.

"Come! Bring her to the back." The female healer spoke briskly and turned away. The Ancient One and Stephen followed.

"Place her here…" The healer spoke as she pointed to the wood and stone bed in front of them.

Stephen placed her there and was then gently nudged back from the bed. The Ancient one took her place at the side of the bed and spoke orders to the orderlies that followed them.

"I need healing salves, bandages, and my spell book." The Ancient one spoke as she waved her hand over Anaiah's body.

Golden waves of light surrounded Anaiah, but many of them were focused on the area where her injury was transfixed on the sight until he was taken by the arm and guided out of the room by Mordo.

"What are you doing? I have to stay in there." Stephen said as he struggled against Mordo.

"No you don't. I understand that you are a Doctor, my friend, but the Ancient One knows what she is doing." Mordo spoke as he guided him outside of the healing chambers.

"You don't understand, she has to be taken to a hospital. She lost a lot of blood, those injuries, she could die!" Stephen turned to him with a worried look on his face.

Stephen may be a Doctor, but his patients would always come to him _after_ something happened to them. This was new to him. Seeing Anaiah being hit by whatever energy that was shot out at her, her body crumpling onto the ground, not moving...it shook him. And it shames him that he can't do anything about it.

"The Ancient One will be able to heal her. This isn't the first time Anaiah has been severely injured, and it certainly won't be the last." Mordo spoke putting a comforting hand on Stephen's shoulder before turning away and leaving.

Stephen didn't leave the Healing Quarters since then. He would stay there until Anaiah woke up. He still needed to give her an apology. He hoped that she would be alive by then.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ If i could be honest, I'm not entirely sure about this chapter. Personally, I could've done better, but Let's just say that i wanted this up as soon as possible. So you see the consequences of Stephen's ego and arrogance, but before he could apologize to Anaiah, she could possibly die before he can do so. And he starting to pay attention to her a little bit more too. So yes, Anaiah is injured and I also introduced a demon into this world (not one from the Marvel Universe, but a demon neverthanless) And just so you guys know, yes the last chapter was a time skip to get to the point where Stephen could use magic more carefully and more diligently. And Thus, bringing him to under the Ancient One's mentorship as well. Just so you guys know, we are _almost_ to the point where Stephen will get to the point of using the eye of agamotto. just a few more 'Years' and we'll be getting into the meat of the story. XD Which means a few more chapters of Anaiah and Stephen interacting a bit more as well. Yosh! Also, Thank you guys for following this story those far. I'm happy to know that this story is getting notice and you guys are enjoying it. :) ON TO THE _**SHOUT OUTS!**_

 _ **bethleham945:**_ Thank you for enjoying this story. And i'm glad to hear that you liked Anaiah's awesome relics. XD

 _ **ShannonTheAwesomeOne:**_ I liked Christine as a good character , but not as a love interest. She was a pretty decent one overall, but as a love interest not so much. Jackie Chan as an Ancient One...I LIKE IT!

 _ **JinxWriter:**_ Nope. Sorry. You lost the game. XD But I love your enthusiasm.

 _ **HeartOfSorrow:**_ And we have a winner! Yes. Anaiah is Hel's daughter and in retrospect she is Loki's granddaughter. XD The Scythe should have given it away and in this chapter, the cross (often used as purifying souls and sins) was also a slight reference of Anaiah's religion (She is a Christian) and a symbolism of Life as well. I just figured that even with her strange (no pun intended) heritage and forgotten past, she would turn to a religion to help her through such a troubling trial in her life.

 _ **Superdani4Ever:**_ Jon Snow? You know nothing! XD LOL. And Yes, Stephen really needed to learn how to be a bit more kinder and less arrogant. XD So Anaiah is willing to put him in his place. XD

 _ **TAL21:**_ Okay, That's it for the Shout Outs, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'm off to bed! The next chapter may come up either tomorrow morning or night depending on how long the next chapter is. But I hope you guys leave _**DETAILED REVIEWS!**_ I really enjoy interacting with my readers because it helps me figure out what you guys would like to see in this story. Plus, I enjoy challenging you guys to think and give you opinions on things as well. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and i'll see you in the next one! :D

 _ **Question Time:**_ If you were part of the marvel universe, what would you be? And Whose Love interest would you be and why?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING! :D**_


	9. Chapter 9

**_The Book Keeper_**

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 9**_

It had been three days since the incident. It had turned out a student had been trying to open a portal to Iceland, but unfortunately (and somehow) managed to open a portal to another dimension that wasn't of this world. Which explained the demonic eyes that Stephen saw through said portal. Anaiah was in the vicinity when the incident happened and her quick thinking managed to make sure that Kamar-Taj (or this dimension to be put more accurately) wasn't broken into.

It came to him as a surprise that Anaiah knew how to deal with certain demonic entities. The relic she had (the white cross) was picked up by Mordo and place back in her chambers. When Stephen asked about it, Mordo simply replied that, "Anaiah is a strange Sorceress. Her relics contradict each other, but compliment her at the same time."

Stephen decided to do some research on her relics, of course, what he did was that he borrowed the books from the library and then trekked back to the Healing chambers to be in Anaiah's room.

He entered Anaiah's temporary room with the two books under his arms. His eyes automatically went to the site of her injuries. She was heavily bandaged around her torso, showing that she was tenderly cared for. Her hair was spread like a halo from the pillow and her skin was still an ashen pale. Her eyes were closed and he noticed that she had rather long lashes that brushed against her skin. He hadn't noticed that before.

He took a seat by her side and placed the books on the side table. He honestly didn't have any words to say to her unconscious state. His eyes wandered up and down her body, unconsciously making mental notes if there was any other injury that was on her body.

And he did find some scars on her. Some on her bared arms that looked like lightning scars, he noted that there was a long jagged scar that was slashed across her throat, and various other scarrings as well. What did she go through to gain these scars? He wondered.

He was lost in his mind before he heard someone.

"She will be fine, Doctor." The voice of the Ancient One spoke.

He looked away from Anaiah and turned to see the Ancient One carrying a small bowl and a white washcloth.

"She hasn't woken up…" He said softly.

"That is because she used everything she had to keep the demon from entering this dimension. This isn't the first time she has done this, nor will it be the last." She spoke as she went to the other side of the bed and sat in a chair.

She placed the bowl on the side table and wetted the washcloth in the bowl. She wringed it out before placing it onto Anaiah's forehead. He noticed that the Ancient One tended to her like a worried mother would to her child. She wasn't just an apprentice to her.

"Anaiah has always put herself in harm's way to protect those who are weak." The Ancient one spoke.

This caught his attention. He looked up and saw the pensive look on the Ancient One's face and came to a conclusion that He may be getting some sort of information about Anaiah.

"It has always been her way to protect even those who know nothing of the mystic arts." The Ancient One spoke before turning to him.

Abashed, he looked to the window. Granted, he has been better in his spell work, and he was going to be working with the Ancient One soon to learn much more. But per order of the Ancient One and Anaiah, he had to give himself a break from all the work he has been doing. He was still an apprentice. If he could even reach a level of Mastery like Anaiah and The Ancient one, he would have to follow their rules and their paths. Of course, he was more of a 'march to the beat of his own drum' kinda guy, but he would try.

"You know, Doctor Strange, Anaiah has told me that you have been rather...adamant of advancing yourself. I will not discourage my apprentices and students to take themselves to higher learning, if they would allow themselves to take in the knowledge one sip at a time. Take in too much, you would find yourself sick in no time." She pointed out.

"I…" He was going to speak, but the Ancient One Continued.

"Your thirst for knowledge is admirable...but you need to also relax and let the Mystic Arts come to you slowly. Anaiah was the same way when she was a child." She strained to smile.

"She was?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes. She would devour book after book, practice spell after spell, when she got violently sick from drawing too much magic to herself." The Ancient One looked at Anaiah with fondness. " She was forced to have bed rest for a month as she would recuperate. Now, she would meditate at least every three days to a week to make sure she doesn't get sick like that again."

"Even though she showed an extreme aptitude of magic, she needed rest for her body to handle the changes the Mystical Arts can do to her body." She spoke before taking the towel off of her forehead and wetting it again.

"It's that hard? Even if I master everything that you are teaching me, It would impact my health like that?" He furrowed his brow.

"Even the most experienced of Sorcerers and Sorceresses would rest from constant usage of the Mystic Arts. Say that you would hold up an Illusion for a prolonged period of time, You used said illusion to disguise yourself. You are constantly drawing magic into yourself to hold this illusion. You body would eventually fall into a coma to rest and 'breathe' after so long being under such magic for so long." She explained.

He never thought of it that way. He thought that Magic was just something that he could draw on to be able to heal his hands, but he learned so much more. He learned so much more that he forgot why he was here. He looked at Anaiah. She exhausted herself to keep that demon out of this dimension that the magic she was using took up her energy. Not just the fact that she got injured while doing so.

"This is why we promote meditation and rest after such an extreme regime of our practices." She smiled at him. "You still have much to learn Doctor Strange. I admire your thirst of knowledge and passion to succeed. But Be warned, those who delve too deep into the Mystic Arts will forget reality."

He had a feeling that she was telling him this because of Kaecillius. He learned snippets of his deflection and may have went mad to bring other realities to this one. He would heed this warning, if only to understand the Mystic Arts a little bit better.

She left not long after that. Leaving him with Anaiah's sleeping body. He really hoped that she would wake up soon. He had more questions than answers when he spoke with the ancient one. Not to mention he still wanted to apologize.

"I hope you wake up soon…" He spoke softly before getting up and leaving.

He figured that maybe a day of meditation and rest might clear his mind.

* * *

 ** _TAL21:_** I wanted to point out that I came to a conclusion that learning and Practicing the Mystic Arts would take a toll on the body. Not to mention that I drew on a bit from Loki and how he used his magic (I would suggest you go to Youtube to listen to The Film Theorist's theory go how magic and science may be one and the same in the marvel universe, there is a bit of insight for it) and I based Anaiah's magic a little bit from Dante's Inferno (The Cross and the Scythe respectively) and of course, Loki himself. From what it looks like normal humans can use magic in the Marvel Universe (Pangborn only used small amounts of magic to be 'healed' so to speak and it didn't impact him as much) but they can tire themselves out by using so much. How Loki would use magic (Because of his heritage as a Jotun and an Aesir) he has a larger stamina and the like to use his magic much more often than the 'mortals' on Midgard. For those of you that are new to the story (and if you paid attention to previous chapters) Anaiah is Loki's Granddaughter. Her mysterious past will be revealed in the future so you can see how the Mystic Arts affects her just a bit more than the average mortal, i.e.: The Ancient One, Doctor Strange, etc. Plus, I enjoy the fact that Stephen would have to literally be forced to take a break in his practices. XD I may make a one-shot separate from this to point it all out. XD Onto the **_Shout outs!_**

 ** _Dovahstav:_** I'm glad that you enjoyed this story! I always wondered what his life was like during his training stages from the beginning to the end. XD As for Anaiah, she is a bit Happy go lucky with a bit of sternness that she acquired over the years, and yes, she is bad ass when she absolutely has to. Just wait till I get to the scenes when She and Stephen are fighting the Zealots and Kaecillius. She is dangerous. XD

 ** _Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape:_** Eventually Anaiah and Stephen will be a couple, but that won't be for a while. XD Don't worry there's going to be some sort of attraction and tension between Anaiah and Stephen. So there will be fluff and a bit of romance between them, but that will probably be far and few in between. XD

 ** _Extended Experience:_** I will take you advice and as a bit more of the physical reactions in this story. Sometimes I forget that I'm trying not to make longer chapters (and trust me, Shorter chapters means less stress for me and easier on my brain for deadline to make more chapters) so my descriptions can be lacking. I will do my best to make them better. :)

 ** _GetLegsBish-Aiya:_** Yup. Stephen is worried about Anaiah. And It is sweet in his own way. The only other woman who can handle his crap would be Christine, but she isn't around. So Anaiah is picking up the slack. XD

 ** _Guest:_** I would definitely say that there should be a warning. All the lights and the trippy imagery gave my friend a headache because we didn't get there early enough to get good seats. Me on the other hand, I relished in it. XD I guess with my Brain being so fast paced, I caught up with it pretty quickly. But still, Some of those scenes felt like I was high without the drugs. XD So not drugs for me. XD I'm glad you enjoyed the movie and my story so far! I hope to hear more from you!

 ** _TAL21:_** Well thats it for the **_Shout Outs!_** I hope you guys liked this short chapter (and sorry that it took me so long, I was in Utah and I went to a BYU game and it was awesome! We Won! And I hung out with my Brother's family and got to see my niece and Nephew. Such cute little brats that they are. XD Anyways, I think I'll be making some one-shots that may be the precursor to the Doctor Strange Movie. Featuring Anaiah, the Ancient One, and other as well. And Like I said, I will flesh out EVERYTHING once I get the movie on Blu-ray. So you might see me making some changes along this story as well as another that I may be making. XD I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I'll try to update every other day now. **_PLEASE LEAVE AWESOME AND DETAILED REVIEWS!_** I really do enjoy taking with my readers and love hearing from you guys. I'll see you in the next chapter! :D

 ** _Question Time!:_** Doctor Strange is a pretty amazing Character, for you guys that are comic book/Movie crazy about him, what is it that you like most about him? :)

 ** _KEEP ON READING AND WRITING!_**


	10. Chapter 10

**_The Book Keeper_**

by TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 10**_

It has been a week and a half since the incident and Anaiah still hasn't woken up. At this point, Stephen has decided that she went into a coma and He kept visiting her during meal times. At these meal times however he would see the Ancient One in Anaiah's healing chamber and feeding her different kinds of broth for nutrition and something simple to keep her fed.

Stephen was reminded of the CNAs back at the hospital who would do personal cares for those who are recovering from Surgery and the like. Of course, he never did such cares, (mainly because he was a dick and thought himself higher than being a butt-wiper then now that he thought about it) but it was interesting how the Ancient One was much like a mother and leader to many of the apprentices and students here.

Today he didn't see the Ancient one, but he had brought some of his own food with him, some sort of spicy curry with vegetables, pad thai noodles with chicken was his preference. He would take his place by the side of the bed and ate his food in silence. Not really paying attention to his surroundings. He focused on the woman who was still in bed. He really didn't know what kind of 'magical' injures there are and how he could treat them. He could sew up a wound no problem, take a bullet out of a brain with extreme precision, graft new skin elsewhere, he could do it...but he couldn't now...not with his hands the way they were.

He felt helpless. And He felt like a lowlife when he thought back to his last interaction with Anaiah. He knew she shouldn't have made a dig as her unknown past, yet he did it anyways. Christine always did say that his arrogance and his pride would be his downfall. Look where it had taken him.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he barely noticed a movement on the bed.

He looked up and saw Anaiah's eyes flickering open. He felt his heart stutter and his breath leaving him as she woke up finally. Her facial expression was blank before it twisted a bit in pain and she let out a sharp gasp before she lifted a hand to her injured area. She had gritted her teeth and let out a sharp exhale before muttering something in a language that he distinctly recalled 'Norse', before she sat herself up gingerly.

He was so shocked that she was awake that he didn't realized that the bowl of his food fell to the floor. That made her turn to where the sound came from. Her pained face turned to surprise as she noticed that he was here.

"Strange?" She rasped, her voice weak from waking up from a week and a half coma.

He straightened himself out and tried to look like he was when he was back in the hospital, but he failed a bit.

"You're awake." He blurted.

 _'_ _Nice going Strange. Be an idiot."_ He thought harshly to himself.

This made her lips twitch into a smile before she chuckled.

"Well, if I'm seeing you, I'm still alive. Did you perform surgery on me?" She poked at him.

This made him look up at her with shock. She was joking with him?

"I...well...I just…" He stuttered.

He didn't stutter! He never stuttered! What has this damn Book Keeper done to him.

"It's fine Strange. I won't be performing magic for the time being, but I'll be fine." She said as she took off her covered and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

At that moment, Stephen realized that she was wearing a slip of a nightgown. Again, he was a doctor. He has seen bodies of both young and old. But for the sake of modesty, he turned away and looked at the wall.

"Damn, it's been awhile since I had an injury like this." She spoke tiredly.

"A while?" He asked not looking at her.

He could hear her pained breaths and shuffling around the room. He heard the closet door open and he heard an 'aha!' before he heard the ruffling of clothes.

"That last time I had a more severe injury was...5 years ago? 6 maybe? But this hurts like a burn though…" She mumbled something about getting a burn salve from the Ancient One.

"They were worried...The Ancient One, Mordo, Wong…" He listed off.

"You?" She countered.

"I wasn't worried. I had complete confidence that you would wake up." He lied.

He heard a snicker and footsteps coming towards him.

"Liar." She chuckled.

He sighed. He just couldn't win with this woman. He might as well get it over with.

"Look...I'm not good with apologizing. I'm...I'm sorry that i brought up a sore subject with you." He said painfully. He really wasn't good at apologizing.

"You were right that I'm egotistical and arrogant...though I'm trying...not to be anymore… and for bringing up your past…" He started to ramble.

He didn't even notice that Anaiah was in front of him and she reached out with her hands and placed them under his jaw and turned his head towards her. She was fully dressed in her green and silver robes and her hair was somehow managed to be brushed out despite being in bed for a week and a half. He was looking up at her and she was still holding his face in her hands. Her face was soft and tender and her warm chocolate eyes had forgiveness in them. He was stunned by the emotions that flitted across her face.

"You are still learning Stephen Strange. Yes, for years you have been stubborn, living rich, wanting only recognition from popular magazines for your work, and yet, here you are trying to be a better person. It's hard work, but you are improving." She smiled softly. "I forgive you."

He was literally stunned. He honestly didn't think that she would accept his apology so easily. But she did. And She could see that he was trying. Old habits die hard but he was trying. He didn't even noticed that his eyes felt wet or that a tear fell from one of them.

She came closer to his face and placed her forehead to his. He felt comforted instantly.

"Just remember to keep trying. You are still learning, and you are doing just fine. You just have to...be more sincere with your attitude. Don't change who you really are Stephen. Stubbornness is a good thing, Pride is what keeps you going, and your physical limits may seem constricting but your attributes will aide you in many ways. You will emerge a better man eventually." She spoke to him before letting his face go.

He blinked a couple of time before he realized that she was straightening out her robes.

"That fact that you came to apologize to me shows humility." She smiled at him again. "Just remember that just because you seem to know everything, doesn't mean that you know the stories behind it. I will see you later, Doctor." She spoke before sweeping herself out of the room.

He was still sitting in the chair by the unmade bed. He was expecting Anaiah to be cold to him. Not even accepting his apology, he expected her to yell at him, claiming that she knows nothing about her past and how she lives her life, how he shouldn't be sticking his nose into it, but instead she gave him forgiveness and peace of mind. He couldn't even remember the last time he was given advice, sincere praise, and pep talk to do better.

He stood up and tuned to the door where Anaiah left. The Book Keeper was ever mysterious. She was like a puzzle that he couldn't figure out. She was a jewel of the deep that he would have to dive and figure out who she was. With his heart hammering against his chest, he made a resolve to get to know her more.

What he never realized that Anaiah made the same resolve. Perhaps things may just be easier between the two of them.

* * *

 ** _TAL21:_** Things are going to heat up between our Doctor and Book Keeper. Stephen will eventually see what the Masters of the mystic arts does when they reach a certain level, but they are not monks or savages. XD Oh no, Anaiah and The Ancient One will be testing him in the real World and not Kathmandu. Just because he will eventually become Sorcerer Supreme doesn't mean he can't have fun. XD Which means that they will be traveling. And even going to a club or two. XD Now, I know that this is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to get this one up before I go to work ( or even post it while I'm at work. LOL) and no shout outs this time. I'll be combining the previous chapters reviews with this chapter reviews for shout outs in the next chapter. I hope to see you guys make _**DETAILED REVIEWS!**_ I like hearing from you guys and I love to interact with you. Please tell me what you like or don't like about this story and tell me what you would love to see in it. Because I like improving my story to the best of my ability. :) I'll see you guys in the next chapter.

 _ **Question Time!:**_ What would you like to see in future chapters? Know for a fact that I'll be adding a bit more humor into the story from here on out until we get to the meat of the story. XD

 _ **Keep on reading and writing!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**_The Book Keeper_**

By TimeAndLife21

* * *

 ** _Chapter 11_**

It wasn't for a few days that Stephen would be going to the Library again. He took the advice that was given to him by heart and meditated and rested to be able to go there again to be able to study more spells and the like. Which means that her need to take out books again. He went across the grounds as the morning was about to come up and entered the library.

He went down the halls and turned into the room that most of the older books were and he was hearing a conversation. He went down the rows trying to see where they were.

"That isn't the point, Hertz. Just because this is experimental doesn't mean that it won't blow up in my face." He heard her voice.

"Ja, Ja, little chicky, it isn't as if you haven't injured yourself before with experimenting. Not to mention looking for older magic that predates even the old times." He heard a deep and heavily accented german voice.

Stephen turned a corner and saw Anaiah bending over a large scroll that was on a table and a huge giant of a man (he swore that he was seven feet tall…)wearing red and gold robes. He looked like an army sergeant, muscular with a strong set jaw and steel grey eyes, he completed the look with a military style buzz cut. Anaiah looked tiny beside the man.

"If I can imbue the magics into the shield, I wonder if it would produce an electric shock…" She murmured out loud.

"That would be dangerous." The man deadpanned.

"Life is full of dangers." She replied back.

"Yes, just like when you put up a shield to keep a demonic entity out of Kamar-Taj. Really Anaiah, you are a magnet for trouble sometimes." The German chuckled.

"I'm not as bad as Aries, how is the rich kid anyways?" She asked.

"Eh, he threw fit about not coming here due to his duties, wanted to see his 'sweetheart' again." He chuckled.

"I'm not his anything." She snapped back.

"Oh course you are not. He just likes to tease you, little chicky _._ " He chuckled.

"Tch, how are things in London by the way? You don't usually come here...unless you are avoiding a certain sorceress?" She smirked up at the man.

The German flushed a deep red.

"Kahlesy is rather adamant to take me clubbing. I came here to avoid her. You won't say anything right?" He looked down at her with a scared look on his face.

"Really Hertz? You've yet to take her up on her offer?" She elbowed him in the solar plexus.

"I prefer drinking at bars. Especially around Oktoberfest." He turned his head away and rubbing where she elbowed him. "Anyways, London and the surrounding areas are good. Nothing too much out of the ordinary, unless you count Aries' family driving him up the wall." He snickered.

"I don't doubt that...given his heritage of a long line of Sorcerers and Sorceresses, he has a lot to own up to. Anything else going on?" She asked as she poured over the scroll again.

"Francesco found a girl. Her name is Elena. She is a mutant apparently. Her powers include photokinesis, manipulation of light. Rather shy for Francesco but she balances him out." Hertz smiled speaking fondly of the man.

"Good for him, I've been wondering when he was going to find a girl. He had a poor string of dates lately." She said as she took a quill dipped it in ink and started to write on a piece of parchment beside the scroll.

"Yes, and the Twins, Ben and Alex, are as annoying as ever. Of course they have been reinforcing the Sacntum lately. From what has happened, it seemed like a good idea at the time and they have been going crazy with the shield spells that you seem to be coming up with." Hertz looked down at her playfully.

"Don't shoot the messenger Hertz, Besides, these shield spells will save someone's life one day." She chuckled as she looked up.

Stephen just kept quiet as he saw the interaction between her and the large man. He honestly didn't think that she had friends outside of Kamar-Taj, but never let anyone say that he admits he was wrong.

"Hello Doctor Strange." She smiled at him.

"Hello Anaiah, my ban has been lifted." He spoke as he walked over to her.

"Yes, I received the note from the Ancient One. Have you been meditating like you are supposed to?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, I'm putting in my hours for meditation." He replied back to her.

"Just making sure. I don't want to have to kick you forcefully out of my library again. I'm sure the first time was rough wasn't it?" She chuckled at him.

"No, I find weapons pressed against my throat something that i don't want happening to me often." Stephen deadpanned.

Hertz laughed in turn making Anaiah turn her nose up and humphed.

"Is this the upstart apprentice that has everyone shocked and awed? Doctor Stephen Strange. I have heard of you." Hertz spoke as he held out a large hand.

Stephen hesitantly reached out and shook the man's hand.

"I hope good things." He replied awkwardly.

Hertz laughed and shook his head.

"No, I have read magazines about you. I have a sister who is an Army Doctor. She often reads about you." Hertz chuckled. "But you are much smaller in person."

 _"_ _Smaller? Compared to this guy!?"_ Stephen paled a little bit.

"Of course, I have heard of your incident," He nodded towards his hands, in which Stephen hid them behind his back, "I truly wish you find recovery here." He said sincerely.

Well that was...unexpected. The big guy was a gentle giant perhaps?

"If he does, color me surprised." Anaiah spoke up before she cracked her fingers. "Okay, I made some adjustments to this spell...Hopefully I made a stronger shield spell. It's a variantion on The Ancient One's shields, but it just might work..."

"If you did, please find someone else to be your lab rat. I distinctly recall the summoning spell that you improved and I ended up with a buffalo on my head." Hertz gave a stink eye to Anaiah.

"That...that was a flop I admit, but I was aiming for a corporeal spirit animal not a physical one. I can do that now." She smiled up at him innocently.

"Yes...tell that to my head. I'm lucky that I didn't get trampled." He crossed his arms.

"You are never going to let that go, ne?" She pouted at Hertz.

"Hehe, even the greatest has their faults." Herts chuckled loudly.

Stephen looked at the scroll Anaiah had and he piped up.

"I can try it." He said as he walked up to her and looked over her shoulder to see what she was working on.

The patterns of the Mandela shield looked complex. If he is deciphering right, it could even stop certain physical weapons in its tracks. He was looking for the gestures for the spell, only to find nothing.

"How do you perform this spell?" He asked.

Anaiah turned around and backed up from him. Giving him and her a bit of space.

"It's just a simple shield spell gesture, though i'm drawing more magic into this spell than previous ones…" She furrowed her brow and she crossed her wrists in front of her then twisted them outward and then forcefully tore them away from each other, both her hands in a fist, he saw a faint spark of the Mandela Shield, but it lasted for only a second before she dropped her hands.

"I'm trying to make this spell stronger, so that it could last as long as you need to. But It's still in the process of being remade." She said before she sighed and shook her head.

"It's possible to improve spells like this?" He asked looking down at the scroll and the parchment beside said scroll with Anaiah's comments and improvements.

Hertz took that moment to speak up, rather hesitantly, he might add.

"Eh, some are more easier to improve than others. Some basic spells to intermediate spells are always changing and we can improve them, knowing that it won't backfire on us, it's one of our ways to be able to use them in our everyday lives, but spells that are older and much more difficult to perform, we leave alone. Only the Sorcerer Supreme can alter such spells and recreate them to their needs. "Hertz shrugged. "You should see the Ancient One and Anaiah spar sometimes, It's rather fascinating."

"Except that she always beats me...everytime, without fail." She sighed dramatically. "I'll get there eventually."

She then turned back to Stephen as she rolled up the scroll with the instructions and improvements that she made.

"If you don't mind things suddenly not working or blowing up in your face, you can try this spell. I already have it memorized and plan on working it out myself, but you can put your own spin on it." She smiled at him.

He took it gently and nodded.

"I will see that I can perform it." He smiled back at her.

"Don't get too cocky, Strange, You still have a lot to learn." She smiled back at him.

Not long after, Stephen, Anaiah and Hertz left the Library.

"Now I must take my leave, I've been gone long enough and I'm sure that Sol is wondering where I've been." Hertz sighed.

"Shame that we couldn't spar Hertz, I've been improving with Ebony." She smiled up at the large man.

"I don't doubt that. You are scary enough when you fight with that Scythe and cross, I don't need your image of fighting me in my mind." He replied shuddering.

Stephen wondered what her fighting style was. Many of the students here learn a range of martial arts to be able to defend themselves, but he wondered how she could fight with a Scythe (and the white cross of course).

"Tell Sol that I'll be stopping by later in the month. I'll be making inventory again." She sighed.

"The Ancient One must enjoy keeping you busy." Hertz smirked.

"Ugh, I'm already in charge of all of our books, but to keep track of our relics as well? I think she just wants me to keep myself busy because I can't do anything else for a while." She motioned to her side where he was still injured.

"Good Luck with that. I shall see you later then, Little Chicky _._ " He spoke before he turned around and picked her up to give her a hug.

Stephen couldn't help but stare at the bizzare interaction. As tiny as Anaiah is, she was engulfed by the German's arms and she struggled to give him a hug back.

"I will also tell Aries how much you miss him with all your love." He mocked her.

"You do that, I will tell Kahlsey that you keep coming here to avoid her." She threatened.

"I hope not. I shall see you later then, Chicky." Hertz laughed before walking off the grounds.

She gave him a wave goodbye before she turned to Stephen. He had a look of contemplation on his face.

"I didn't know you had other friends besides Mordo and Wong." H asked out loud.

"Most of my friends whom I trained with, so to speak, are elsewhere in the world. There are many Sorcerers and Sorceresses out there. Maybe you walked by one on the street without even noticing." She smirked.

"Like Jonathan Pangborn?" He thought outloud.

She brightened at the name.

"Ah, I remember Johnny. I would definitely say that he was one of our best students even if he left just knowing how to use the mystic arts to walk again. I hope he has been enjoying his life since he left." She smiled tenderly.

"He is last I saw him…" Stephen thought back to Pangborn playing basketball with his teammates.

"Good. Now, I have to get going, I need to speak with the Ancient One about inventory, tell me how my improved version of the shield works out for you. You can keep that scroll for the time being to study it if you need to. When you finish, find Wong and look into more shielding spells, i think they might prove useful for you." She smiled up at him.

He nodded back at her. Maybe she might have the right idea for it. He bid her goodbye for the day and didn't see her till the next week...and that week was when things got…interesting to say the least.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Okay Guys, Humor is going to be in the next couple of chapters I was inspired a bit by some of the other humor stories here in the _**Doctor Strange**_ Archive but I'll be putting my own little spin on them. I know a summoning spell that will end in laughs, and a couple other ideas. But I wouldn't mind if you guys give me a few ideas as well. XD I also went to see Doctor Strange again last night and I'm gonna be fixing/adding somethings to future chapters. Also, I made a companion story for _**The Book Keeper**_. _**The Book Keeper**_ is mostly (if not all) in Stephen Strange's point of view. _**The Sorcerer Supreme's Apprentice**_ deals with Anaiah's POV. Eventually I will merge the two stories together... eventually. XD Now my friends, It's time for the _**SHOUT OUTS!**_ :D

 _ **Sparky She-Demon:**_ There will be a some pranks here and there that I will be making for the students and Even Stephen may get onboard for it (Though I don't know how), and I want to lighten things up before I finally make a transition to when Strange finally uses the Eye of Agamotto.

 _ **JinxWriter:**_ Oh there's something going on between Stephen and Anaiah, though it won't be so sudden falling in love for the both of them. Both Stephen and Anaiah will be getting to know each other a bit more in future chapters before I hit the point when things go down in the movie. As for Kaecillius, I have an Idea of what may happen, but I'm still writing it out as we speak. XD

 _ **Hermione02:**_ You are fine for not writing a review, some people just want to read the story and not leave anything, others (whom is shall not name XD) leave pretty awesome reviews that I can't help but do shout outs for them. It's enjoyable to me at least. :) Humor is fun, but I assure you there will be drama coming up. :)

 _ **GetLegsBish-Aiya:**_ Because of Anaiah's unknown past, she didn't focus on herself but rather try her best to help others around her. Like Strange, she doesn't like pity. But He will accept help when she needs it, Which is where the Ancient One comes in. There's a bit of a Mother Daughter relationship between the Ancient one and Anaiah, and that is where Anaiah get's most of her morals, compassion, and empathy from. She was practically raised by the Ancient One, so it makes sense that she wouldn't focus on herself, but on people who needed help. And She will put Stephen in his place, old habits die hard, so if Stephen does fall out of Line, she'll be able to correct him and make sure his arrogence doesn't overtake him. As for her scars, I'll be elaborating on them in the Companion story _**The**_ ** _Sorcerer Supreme's Apprentice._** As I've said in my Author's note, I'll be combining the two stories eventually, but for now they will run parallel with each other. I honestly;y wish I could make longer chapters, but It's not easy. It would take a lot of time for me to put aside to make even a 5,000 word chapter (if you have read my other stories, you will see that I have been on hiatus mostly to make those longer chapters i.e.: Black as the Blood In Our Names, Thieving Hearts etc.). So with Doctor Strange, Shorter chapters are easier on me because I can spend three hours writing and then post on here within those three hours. And thank you for the Praise of my Story, although I recommend the crossover _**S** **trange and Stranger**_ that is a Harry Potter Crossover and I enjoy it a lot. XD Thank you for your review, it means a lot. :)

 _ **TAL21:**_ Okay, that's it for the shout outs, please leave _**detailed reviews and**_ ** _criticisms_** as I enjoy talking and speaking with my readers and it's fun to see what you really think of my story. I'm also saying this again that I'm open to any ideas for humor chapter that I will be posting up here. Also give my companion piece _**The Sorcerer Supreme's Apprentice**_ a read as well. Due to me watching the movie again for the second time, I'll be making parallels for that and here because I can. XD Have you noticed my obsession with Doctor Strange yet? XD See you guys in the next chapter.

 _ **Question Time!:**_ For my humor chapters before we get into the meat of the story, what do you want to see in those chapters? I have a few ideas but I wonder what you want to see.

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING! :D**_


	12. Chapter 12

**_The Book Keeper_**

By TimeAndLife21

* * *

 ** _Chapter 12_**

"...um...well, that is quite interesting, Doctor Strange" Anaiah said calmly.

"...Don't say it, I swear to whatever God you worship, don't...say it." He muttered darkly as he looked at what was in front of him.

Anaiah let a huff of breath that sounded surprisingly like laughter, but she composed herself yet again. He could hear his peers in the background chatting.

"Did you see what Strange just summoned?"

"Wow...that's impressive."

"Look at it! Isn't it cute? I wanna pet it"

"You think _that_ is cute?"

"It's a freaking deer...I can't tell whether to be impressed or laugh."

"Look at it's rack! It's a hunter's wet dream!"

"At least he summoned something… the rest of us have been trying to summon animals for a while now...He just managed to get it on the first try...unbelieveable."

"Leave it to Strange to somehow managed to beat us in yet another class, though I think this is much more funnier than he did back when he was making the portals to the library to steal the books."

Yes, it was a summoning Class that Stephen had attended. Mainly because Anaiah was teaching it. He was curious about her teaching (Turns out she wasn't just a Book Keeper even though that is her main job, but like the other Masters i.e: Wong, Hamir, Mordo etc. She was also a Master and thus she taught.) and the classes that she usually teaches is a Summoning Class, Spiritual Magic Classes (reserved for Apprentices who are close to Master Levels), and Weapons Training Classes (Usually reserved for those who would wield bladed weapons, staffs, staves, whips, etc.). She was a rather good teacher now that he has seen her being patient with the students and apprentices.

And...he summoned a deer. A freaking Deer. He was aiming for something more ferocious...like a tiger or a lion, but no...he summoned a damn deer. A large red deer that had an equally impressive large rack of tines and points, but a deer nethertheless. Did he make a mistake when he was doing the procedure? He mimicked Anaiah just fine, just a small amount of blood was used in the summoning ritual. A small drop of blood from the thumb and a few hand symbols that he had managed to make without too much trouble. Then went a yellow and red mandala like symbol appeared in front of him, and then he was to slam the symbol on the ground and the animal should have been able to be summoned from wherever it came from.

He heard a small chuckle from Anaiah and she went up to the animal. The deer didn't look disoriented nor did it seem frightened in its surroundings. It was taking things in stride now that Stephen thought about it. It didn't even look fazed.

"Hello there." She spoke before she came to it's face and blew gently in it.

The Deer blew air back into her face before it it started to nuzzle her head and shoulders. It acted like a pet, when Anaiah was rubbing it's nose, head, and neck. Stephen noticed that its coat was a rather dark red than most red deer, and it had a star-shaped white mark on it's forehead.

"You are an impressive specimen, yes you are. I shall name you...Rannoch." She smiled brightly before turning to the class and Stephen.

"This is an example of a successful summoning. Now, I should have warned you from the beginning, the first animal that you have summoned would correspond with your personality traits. I didn't tell you this because then you would be thinking of what animal would suit you better. I've had previous students who summoned a crocodile, a capybara, an octopus believe it or not, and even a small emperor tamarin monkey. Eventually, you'll be able to summon many different animals when you keep practicing, until then, try to summon your own animal." She explained before the deer butted her shoulder gently with it's head being mindful about its antlers, she petted it as she was speaking to the class.

"Class dismissed, I want you to practice on your own time to work on summoning an animal, come find me if you think you can summon one without much difficulty." She spoke before turning back to the large Red Deer.

Some of his peers patted him on the shoulder and gave him congrats for managing such a difficult spell, others he could tell were bitter that he was able to summon an animal on the first try, and the rest just shrugged and told themselves that they would get there eventually.

When He, Anaiah and the deer was left alone, he spoke up.

"So what, I'm a deer?" He raised an eyebrow.

"The Red Deer is common for certain personality traits." She spoke petting it and then would speak in low tones to it, the ears of the deer would turn toward her voice and it gave a rather happy grunt.

"What personality traits?" He asked, though he might have an idea.

"Well, Red deer are prideful and stubborn, and depending on the Buck or hind in other cases, they are arrogant and pride themselves with the show of their antlers." She smiled slyly to him.

"Funny…"He deadpanned.

She shook her head before continuing.

"But...they are also gentle and will defend those they care about at all costs. They are determined and sure in very difficult situations. They are also diligently aware of their surroundings and adapt to different situations though slowly but surely." She answered before lifting its head high and walked around it, studying it, she waved him over and he did so, minding the large antlers as the deer's head was following his every move.

"Look at this." She pointed to it's side.

Stephen followed the hand and saw that on the deer's side was scarring. Presumably from previous fights that it had. There were similar scars on the other side. But the one that he noticed was a scar that ran down it's left eye. He was surprised that it could still see. The gold eyes that stared at him unnerved him. It stepped forward and stopped in front of him and blew in his face. He coughed at the smell of it.

"Blow back gently in it's face." She instructed. "It's how you can introduce yourself."

He felt silly about it, but he did as she asked. It blew back in his face once again and it raised it's head and it seemed to nod at him.

"Why do I have a feeling that this isn't a normal animal?" He spoke uneasily.

"You could be right…" Anaiah muttered as she petted the deer behind it's ears. "I'll take it to the stables, would you like to stay here, Rannoch?" She spoke to it as if it was intelligent.

The deer, she dubbed Rannoch, turned to her and nodded at her before she took her sash that she had around her waist and used it to create a harness for it's face.

"Well Stephen, congrats of summoning your animal, I have a feeling that he will be staying around her for a while." She smiled at him.

"Joy...I hope I don't have to clean up after him." He spoke sarcastically.

"Well...you summoned him...he's yours." She shot back chuckling as she lead the deer out of the training grounds.

"What?! Anaiah, you're joking...Anaiah? Anaiah!" He shouted after her as she laughed out loud.

* * *

By the time dinner came around, everyone has heard of his summoning of an animal. A Red Deer was the animal that popped up. Some of the students and apprentices came up to him and congratulated him on summoning it, others just politely nodded at him, and some had a grudging respect that he summoned an animal in one shot.

"You summoned a deer, Strange?" Mordo chuckled.

"Really, Mordo?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Now, now, You have to admit, that was an achievement. I remember summoning mine." He chuckled.

"You?" Stephen asked.

"Mine was a Black Caimen, a type of crocodile. Now that was a story to tell, it was a bit temperamental, but I was able to send it back to where it came from. I decided summoning animals isn't for me." He chuckled.

He wondered what Anaiah's was.

"What about Anaiah? What was her animal?" He asked subtly.

Mordo paused in his eating before furrowing his brow.

"To be honest, I don't know. She prefers using corporeal spirit magics for her summons. She could summon wolves, horses, snakes, ravens and eagles, those types of animals that she could summon with magic, but physical animals? I haven't seen one from her." He explained.

Perhaps eventually he would find out, but for now, he would slightly be embarrassed and relish in the attention of the fact that he could summon an animal from another place, even if it was a deer, he was proud of the achievement.

Unfortunately, he was given a nickname for the next couple of weeks. " _Big Buck Strange._ " He swore that name would never leave the compound. He even beat a few of his peers in spars to make his point that he didn't like the name. When he saw Anaiah next, she cracked a joke to him about it.

"So when can I get tickets to the show?" She spoke as she bit her bottom lip to halt her laughing.

"What show?" He asked cautiously.

"The show of Big Buck Strange? I'm hoping to get a decent striptease after all this stress of teaching." She bit out before she cracked laughing. "If you can't get back to your career of being a doctor, could you be a chippendale dancer? I'll be your first customer."

"Get over here!" He snapped in jest as he reached out quickly to grab her but she slipped away.

He took off after her when she ran from him getting away from his reach so that she didn't get caught. Her laugh echoed throughout the library and compound and she managed to escape him by going to the very stables that housed Rannoch. She hid behind the deer and he just sighed in defeat.

"Really? That is cheating." He glared at her as best he can.

Rannoch pretty much stood between her and him, and from what it looks like, Rannoch is protecting her from him.

"I'll get you back, one way or another." Stephen pointed at her.

"I'll be ready for it." She smiled at him.

Oh he'll make sure that she won't see it coming, he guarantees it.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Okay, this chapter and another chapter that I will be making later on in the night, are humor chapters. I had to figure out just what kind of animal Strange could relate too. Although I wanted his animal to be abstract and strange (no pun intended) like a platypus, a piranha fish, or even an ostrich, but a Red Deer just popped out to me. There was a story in the Archive of him summoning a cow and I was inspired by that...and I laughed about it for a while too. XD Oh and I'll give you a cookie if you can tell me where I got the name Rannoch from. XD So consider this chapter and the next chapter Thanksgiving 'treats' for you guys. :) I have to get off and get my stuff done in real life (ADULTING IS HARD!). Please Leave awesome _**long and detailed reviews**_ because I love interacting with my readers. I'll do _**Shout Outs**_ in the next chapter! See you guys later! :D

 _ **Question Time!:**_ If you had a chance to watch the 2007 Animated Film Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme, what was it about it that you enjoyed and what elements do you want to see for me to put in here?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**The Book Keeper**_

By TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 13**_

It was a hot and sunny week, hot even for Kathmandu. Not very much clouds in the sky and not even the occasional rain would cool everyone down. The students and apprentices were melting in the heat, the Masters were complaining of the heat as well. Stephen wasn't a summer person. He hated summer with a Passion. He preferred the cooler fall time temperatures and early spring days with the occasional rainy day. Today was the day that he despised being outside. Not even his studies would keep his mind off of the heat that permeated Kamar-taj. The only one that didn't seem to be affected by the Heat was the Ancient One.

He was sweltering, and he was grouchy. He entered the library hoping to be cooled down, but it didn't seem like it was meant to be. He found himself at the desk and took a seat. He was wondering where Anaiah is when her heard muttering and grumbling.

"Freaking hot...I'm gonna die...I need the cold…." He could hear Anaiah's muttering and he summoned the strength to get up and find her.

He found her alright. She was wearing a lighter version of her green and silver robes. They looked to be made of cotton instead of the heavy leather and cloth that it is usually made out of. Her hair was up in a bun, but some strands of it was out and he could see the sheen of sweat that was on her neck and face. She was putting books away when one fell out of her hands and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.

She looked exasperated and groaned.

"I hate the heat...I just want to go to a water park, is that too much to ask for? No. Hell drenching myself in the Ganga river sounds like a dream." She spoke out loud.

"Sounds like a plan…" He said out loud.

She turned to see stephen and he noticed that Anaiah wasn't wearing her usual glasses and she looked like she was about to suffer heatstroke. Her face was flushed and her eyes looked partially glazed over.

"Tch, the sooner I put these books away, I'm heading out to the Swiss Alps. I know the Master that lives in a rather large cabin up there. The heat here is killing me." She said as she picked up the book and placed it away.

"You can do that?" Stephen asked.

"We don't force people to stay here if they don't want to. We have some of our younger students who come would go home after their studies to be with their families." She said as she wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand.

"They are not Orphans?" He asked.

"Some of them are Orphans that come here for shelter, but often they become permanent residents here...like myself." She smirked at him. "Other students come here to learn the Mystic Arts and then go back to their families at the end of the day, and the kitchens would let them take food home so that their families won't have to worry another day of eating, The older students would stay here longer as they would climb the ladder of becoming a Master."

"And then there are the Masters here that have children here that are following their parents steps to become a Master." She smiled at him.

"So they come and go?" He asked.

"Depending on the situation. Most of that is up to The Ancient One and the Three masters of the Sanctums." She spoke.

"Sanctums?" He asked.

"I'll tell you about them later. Even after being here for quite some time, Doctor, you don't know everything about us." She chuckled.

Stephen had a very vague feeling that he was being mocked, but he let it slide.

"When can we leave?" He blurted out as he wiped the sweat off of his brow.

"Why Doctor Strange, are you assuming that I'm going to take you with me to a nice cold place away from here?" She spoke as she placed her hand over her heart.

He glared at her. He wanted to get out of the heat just as much as her, if he can get some kind of relief he wouldn't complain.

"What was that you were saying a while back? 'Take frequent rests so as not to exhust myself as I'm learning the Mystic Arts?' I'm pretty sure that you said something about that." He smirked at her.

She gave him a look of 'Really? You are trying that crap with me?' but she shrugged anyways.

"Ask the Ancient one if you can come with me. I'm sure there is some more spells that you can learn at Lucia's Cabin." She said as she then picked up the pace.

"You better ask her soon, I'm planning on leaving as soon as I'm done." She spoke as she disappeared into the Library.

He intended to do just that.

* * *

"You want to do what?" Mordo asked dumbfounded before the Ancient One could say anything, although she had a rather mischievous look in her eyes.

"I don't have to repeat myself…" He muttered.

He was desperate to get the hell out of the heat. And if it's to go to the Alps, he would even go back to Everest in order to have a break from the heat.

"I think that would be a fine idea. Put some of your spells to the test in a different environment. Perhaps Master Lucia might even assist you." The Ancient One smiled gently.

"He wouldn't last five minutes with Master Lucia." Mordo muttered.

"I heard that." Stephen glared at Mordo.

"You were meant to. Master Lucia isn't as she seems. I can only hope that Anaiah will explain your situation to you, least Master Lucia take you on and throw you to the wolves to survive." Mordo said almost spookily.

"Mordo... " The Ancient one chided almost laughingly.

"She is terrifying! I think she only tolerates you and Anaiah, Master!" Mordo exclaimed.

"I see no problem with the situation...if that is fine with Doctor Strange?" She spoke as she turned to Stephen.

"If I can learn more, that would be ideal." Stephen said almost humbly.

"Very well. I wish you luck then." She smiled as Stephen left the room.

What Stephen didn't realize that the next few days his world is going to be flipped upside down once again...and not just because he would be learning new spells. No, it's something much much more.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Short chapter again, but trust me, i would say that this short arc will be pivotal for both Stephen and Anaiah. There will be some humor in the next couple of chapters (hopefully longer than 4k words) but there's going to be some changes fluffy and heartwarming changes, but changes nevertheless. After this arc, we are jumping right into the meat of the Doctor Strange movie once again. And i won't be doing _**Shout Outs,**_ for this chapter because i don't have time for it. XD I have work in less than an hour and a half and it takes time to reply to your reviews! I will do it after i write the next chapter! I hope you guys had an awesome Thanksgiving and went into a food coma, and were safe during Black Friday shopping. I'll see you guys in the next chapters! _**PLEASE leave awesome and lengthy detailed reviews!**_ I love chatting with my readers!

 _ **Question Time!:**_ I got the soundtrack to Doctor Strange. My favorite songs of course is the Master of the Mystic Arts theme, but I also enjoyed Strange Days Ahead, Smote and Mirrors, and Go for Baroque. What are your favorite scores from the Movie soundtracks?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING! :D**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**The Book Keeper**_

By TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 14**_

 _Stephen didn't think much of Master Lucia when he first met her. She had a dreamy look on her face, and was rather blunt yet strict about her rules of the Monastery and was very informative in the Mystic arts, especially about some of the relics that have been placed here. But in his experience as a doctor, he could see something odd about her. Something that was lying underneath the surface. The small tics that she had. The way she spoke was...out there to say the least. The way everything seemed so...clean here in this monastery. Not even a speck of dust. With only her as it's occupant. He made her out to be just someone who prefered the hermit lifestyle._

 _The fight that was happening in front of him proved him wrong. He was banging on the large barrier shield to intervene but it was no use. Anaiah was defending herself against Master Lucia with the skin of her teeth. Her scythe and her cross the only weapons she was using and Lucia had a rather terrifying weapon. The Snake Sword of Valentine. The best way to describe that relic was that it acted as a bladed whip and Anaiah was toe to toe with her._

 _The woman was grinning psychotically and laughing as she was bearing down on Anaiah who just barely blocked the sword's blades with her scythe.. It truly sent chills down his spine. It was a complete 180 degree change of the woman's personality._

" _Come on now, young disciple! You need a bit of a push!" She laughed maniacally as she whipped the sword around and slashed at her._

 _The sword wrapped around her neck and…_

* * *

 _Six Days Earlier…_

"Mordo…" Anaiah shook her head.

"You are serious?" Mordo crossed his arms and looked at her with a look that a disappointed parent would give to a child.

Stephen was actually excited to travel to a different part of the world using the sling ring. He had traveled to Everest (which was not really a destination he would go to anytime soon) and of course using the sling ring to get books from the library (Wong still glared at him from time to time for doing that...again). But of course, in order to go to the Swiss Alps, one must be dressed appropriately. Heavy furs and clothes in the summer heat and he was ready to just drop dead. Anaiah was dressed similar to him, but not as heavy.

"I hope that Master Lucia won't eat him alive or worse." Mordo spoke to her.

"Mordo, I have it taken care of. Don't be such a mother hen." Anaiah rolled her eyes.

Mordo sputtered indignantly.

"I am not a mother hen!" Mordo spoke getting his teeth.

Even though Stephen is thankful for the hand of friendship that Mordo had extended out to him, he had to admit that he has a tendency to be a mother hen. But he was thankful nethertheless. Mordo then turned to Stephen with a worried look in his eyes.

"Just be careful around Master Lucia. She can be a bit…" Mordo was having difficulty finding a word that wasn't 'Strange.' Given the fact that Stephen's last name _was_ Strange, the puns that Stephen had been handing out to Mordo had exasperated the poor man.

"Eccentric to say the least, Extraordinary at best." The Ancient One spoke as she entered the room.

The three of them turned to The Ancient One and she smiled at them.

"I hope you enjoy your little break from here, but please don't trouble Master Lucia longer than you have to." The Ancient One spoke gently, yet Stephen could hear a bit of warning behind those words.

"Don't worry, we will only be staying a week. Nothing More, and nothing less. It'll be nice to see her again. It's been a while." Anaiah spoke as she lifted her pack onto her back and was ready to go.

Mordo stood next to Stephen and spoke lowly.

"Just be wary around Master Lucia." Mordo warned.

"Why? Is she insane?" Stephen joked.

No reply was given.

"You cannot be…"Stephen was about to speak before Anaiah grabbed him by the coat and was forcefully pulled through a portal.

"Bye!" Anaiah spoke before she closed the portal.

The next thing he knew was the biting cold hitting his face. The heat that was previously killing him at Kamar-Taj suddenly was replace with snow coming down in waves and his body was adjusting to the rather sudden change of boiling heat to the sudden cold.

"Strange!" He heard Anaiah's voice over the snowstorm.

He turned himself to see her waving at him, her feet deep in the snow.

"Let's move! She's expecting us!" She shouted at him.

He then moved quickly. Following her closely. She seemed to know the path to wherever this place was so he kept a close eye on her back as she led him to wherever this place was. He struggled a bit as he was doing his best to move his feet through the snow until he felt Anaiah's hand wrap around his thick padded arm and pulled him upward.

He looked up and saw that there was a ill-paved road ahead and Anaiah was pulling him towards it. They made it to the road and it was easier for them to make their trek through the snow. Though, the road looked like it hadn't been tended to in years. By now, his body was starting to cool down too much, too fast. And he really didn't want hypothermia.

"Where is this place?!" He shouted at her over the howling winds.

"Not far now!"She turned to him smiling.

Her cheeks were red with the snow blowing onto her face but her eyes had changed color again. That same dark emerald green. Usually her eyes would turn such a color when she would be using magic. But she seemed to be more...alive in this storm? Maybe the temperature shock was getting to him. She shook him to get his attention again and pointed with a gloved hand up the road.

Up the road, maybe a little less than a mile, was a large stone-like castle. The words come to him immediately.

"That is not a cabin!" He shouted at her as he looked closer at it.

She said it was a cabin...but that was anything but.

"Come On Doctor! Let's pick up the pace before we freeze!" She shouted back at him as she moved forward.

He too picked up the pace as his body was struggling to stay warm in the freezing cold. If it wasn't for Anaiah keeping her hand on his arm, he would have fallen to his knees sooner. He lifted his head, squinting his eyes against the wind and snow, they were getting closer and closer to the castle like building. By the time they reached the wooden doors, the both of them were huddling by the door. Anaiah reached for the large metal knocker and knocked rather loudly. Almost instantly, the door opened and while Stephen was in shock, Anaiah grabbed him by the arm (again) and walked into the suddenly warm castle.

He fell to his knees to try and orient himself again. The trip from sweltering Kathmandu to the cold Swiss Alps and then coming into a suddenly warm place of shelter, he was adjusting to it. After a couple of minutes taking some deep breaths to ease himself into the weirdness of traveling in such a short time, Anaiah kneeled in front of him and chuckled.

"Adjusting?" She smiled down at him.

"You've been doing this longer than I have, you have the advantage." He said before sitting back on his heels.

"True, but I hope that this transition will be the first of many. Now let's get these heavy coats off, I'm roasting again." She spoke before standing up and taking off her pack and the heavier clothes.

He did so, his hands shaking all the while, and Anaiah would take the heavy coats from him and hung it on a row of hooks that was by the door. He then looked at his surroundings. He could tell that they were in the entryway that would lead into the inside of the place.

"Are you sure that this is a cabin?" He asked sarcastically.

"Hehe, this is an abandoned Monastery. Master Lucia had lived here for many, many years. Some say she lived just as long as The Ancient One." she spoke as she motioned him to follow her.

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically as he followed her down a long corridor.

"Well I don't know everything about the older masters. So it could be true or not." She shrugged.

The stone walls were lined with tapestries. There were many symbols on them, though many of them feature animals like elephants, tigers, wolves, eagles, and more. They reached the end of the corridor and it opened up into a large open space. It was completely different to what it looks like outside. Giant stained glass windows, which featured mostly different types of animals, was lined amongst the walls. The space in front of him looked very much like a giant ballroom of sorts. It was like a mish-mash of a modern century ballroom mixed with a church like feel of the monastery. The floor was made of stained wood, but they were intricately painted with natural wood colors and there were designs on them. Along the sides of the large space was a long and burning fireplace. Which must be the central heat for this open space and it lit up the room with a rather soft light. There was a giant staircase in the middle of it all that lead to the upper floors.

He had to admit it was rather breathtaking. The mixed space and themes worked together even if they must be centuries apart. He looked up and saw a giant glass chandelier that glittered in the low light. He was so entranced by the beauty of this place he didn't notice someone standing by his side.

"Many who come here are always taken aback by the strange beauty of this place, I hope you enjoy your stay here." He heard a light airy voice beside him.

He jumped a little bit, and he most definitely did not let out a squeak of fright, as he turned to the source of the voice.

It was a woman. She looked to be in her late thirties, but Stephen had learned to understand the weirdness that was the Mystic arts, so she must be older than she looked. She wore a blood red tunic dress with a cream laced bodice. The borders of the dress were intricately embroidered with black and silver. Her skin was pale as the snow outside, and her hair was a platinum blond maybe lighter. It was pin-straight and not a hair out of place. She was the same height as he was, but he wasn't sure if she was wearing heels or not.

She had very pale blue eyes. Like the color of the daytime sky. But as he looked a bit closer, he noticed that she wasn't really looking at him, but seeing _past_ him. She just might be blind, if he was being correct.

"Master Lucia!" Anaiah spoke up before walking past strange and going to the woman.

So this was Master Lucia. She wasn't all that he thought she would be.

"Anaiah, it is wonderful to see you again." she spoke in that airy voice again.

She lifted her hands and they twitched only a little before she placed them onto Anaiah's face.

"You haven't visited for a while. I was starting to get worried that you've tired of me." She spoke softly.

"Not really, I've been pretty busy lately." She said shyly.

"I can see that, You have brought an apprentice here. The Ancient One is taking in strays again?" She said as her head turned towards him.

He felt insulted.

"Master Lucia, please be considerate." Anaiah frowned.

"Of course, my dear." She admonished before taking her hands off of Anaiah's face. "Doctor Stephen Strange… what an interesting apprentice that she has taken in." She tilted her head as she walked back up to him again.

It took a lot of effort to not insult the woman in front of him. She looked up at him and tilted her head again, her rosebud lips pursed in concentration. She squinted her eyes as she apparently observed him. She then started to walk around him like some sort of doll to be admired.

"Hmm...never have I seen such a raw talent...and power. Very studious as well. That is rare in an Apprentice." She said rather eerily before stopping in front of him.

She raised her hand open-palmed to his face and he was just about to raise his hand in defense until Master Lucia spoke.

"Do not be afraid Stephen Strange… I am merely observing your spirit." The woman spoke as she shook her head just a little before speaking again. "I see...Arrogance and Pride. But I also see a broken man who seeks to heal his hands, no matter the cost."

He gritted his teeth and sneered at the woman. Who was she to tell him who he was and what he was like?

"But...I see something else as well." She said as she slowly put her hand down to her side. "Something...interesting. I wonder Stephen Strange...what is it that you want in this life? Your return to your career? Or something much more than just regaining the use of your hands?" She spoke in that light voice.

He couldn't help but be startled at that statement, but before he could recover, Master Lucia spoke again.

"Anaiah, you can take him to the West Wing where the guest rooms are at. You may tell him the rules of the Monastery. You both are welcome to go anywhere in this place, except for the East Wing." She spoke as she turned and walked away from the both of them.

"What's in the East Wing?' He asked.

"It's forbidden." The Master turned and looked at him. Her face unchanged from its dreamy mask but her eyes held a slight hardness. "I pray that your curiosity won't kill you if you break my rules."

She then turned to Anaiah, "Please make yourselves comfortable. I will have dinner served to you soon."

The woman then walked off. Stephen watched as she turned a corner before he turned to Anaiah.

"What the hell just happened?" He asked her.

Anaiah just shrugged.

"I think she likes you." She commented.

"Likes me? She just insulted me." He sneered.

"Master Lucia isn't…" Anaiah struggled to find the words. "She's a bit hard to understand. She may seem odd in many ways, but she doesn't lie."

Somehow, Stephen believed her.

"Well, let's go to the West Wing. That is where our rooms are at." She spoke as she took him by the arm again and led him up the grand staircase.

"So...where is the Library?" He asked.

Anaiah just laughed as she led him down the halls, unaware to the both of them, Master Lucia was in the shadows observing. She hadn't felt a strong presence in the longest time. Morwyn, who is the current Ancient One, was one of the strongest. Yes, Lucia has been around just as long as Morwyn not longer, but longevity and immortality came at a price. As well as other such Magics that she had used to sustain herself over time. She knew her price when she was a young Sorceress in a growing world. It was why she confined herself in this monastery, training ones who would become to be Master Sorcerers or Sorceresses. She would choose weather the Strays that Morwyn brought in have talent, power, and most importantly, humility.

This Stephen Strange was someone who has raw talent, untapped power, and while he did have humility, it was buried deep inside. Not to mention his arrogance, ego, and pride is practically the size of the moon. But...he has potential. This particular stray hasn't an idea what is in store for him. Morwyn had spoken to her about him. How he was a broken man after his arrogance cost him his hands. Losing everything he had. Yet, he held onto the hope that he could regain use of them. Even if training in the Mystic Arts could be used to regain use of them again.

Lucia smiled. She enjoyed broken things. But she enjoyed getting those broken things 'fix' themselves. She probably won't be able to fix Stephen Strange in seven days, but she just may be able to kick-start him, and Morwyn will finish him up. She will have fun with this one. Yes, she will. And she is looking forward to see who Stephen Strange will truly be in the future.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ GAH! Finally! I had to go through a couple of drafts of who I wanted Master Lucia to be. Finally I based her off of Luna Lovegood in looks in a way, but her personality thought similar to Luna, is not who she seems. If the beginning of the chapter gives any hints to you, Lucia is dangerous, but that aspect of her personality hasn't come out just yet. And yes, there will be some humorous interactions between her, Anaiah, and Stephen, but Lucia will be testing him. And you guys will get to see a few objects that I have pulled from other 'Dimensions'. You'll probably think that I'm a little crazy that i'm doing it, but when you really think about it, it can be put into the Marvel Universe quite well if you use it correctly. That is what fanfiction is for! Now, I won't be doing seven chapters for those seven days, but I'm thinking about three more chapters for this arc and then getting into the movie once again. I hope you guys like Master Lucia so far, I like her already. :D And Yes, I did give The Ancient One a name. Deal with it. XD Now onto the **_SHOUT OUTS!_**

 _ **Sparky She-Demon:**_ You will be meeting Aries eventually, probably until after the movie arc is over. The concept I came up for him is pretty funny actually, given the fact that I based him off of a couple of characters personality wise. XD You should totally see the Animated Doctor Strange movie. You will not be disappointed. Trust me, it is a precious gem for Marvel's Animated Movies. As for Rannoch the deer, the name actually came from David Clemment Davies book the Fire Bringer. If you ever have a chance to read it, do it. It's an amazing read. :) And You can get the Doctor Strange Soundtrack off of iTunes or Amazon. I have the entire soundtrack and I listen to it daily. I'm addicted to the sounds that it produces. :) And Yes, Lucia will provide some humor, but at Stephen's expense. XD

 _ **JinxWriter:**_ Lucia doesn't really see the future. She could tell who has potential to change the future for better or worse, but to actually 'seeing' the future isn't plausible for her. She likes to see who she could transform under her tutelage, even under a specified amount of time. Stephen is in for a shock that is for sure. And before you ask, She has rejected to train Kaecillius (as well as many others for reasons unknown to many) because she could see what darkness lies in his heart and even warned the Ancient One about it, but was dismissed. She did warn her after all. But Lucia i would say is neutral in many things. But training those who don't show promise or even great things in their futures, she would reject. Personal preferences take hold of what she likes and doesn't like. Oh and there will be some heartbreaking to heartwarming stuff coming up in the next couple of chapters. Your hear will probably hurt from reading it. XD

 **CJ/Oddball:** Anaiah and Stephen will get to gather eventually, but yeah, they actually are a bit of a funny couple to say the least. She doesn't really put up with his crap, but see the mask that he holds for himself, as for Stephen he's still holding onto the piece of past that is Christine. Its not as prominent, but it's still there. As for the heat, Anaiah never really tolerates heat that well. She prefers cooler temperatures that she could handle by at least 15 degrees. Any colder and she will be uncomfortable about it. Mordo never really liked Master Lucia, true she was a Master, but being around her makes him nervous overall. As for the Doctor Strange soundtrack, I recommend Amazon or iTunes to get the music. You will not be disappointed. :)

 _ **TAL21:**_ That's it for the Shout Outs. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter a bit. The next chapter will be a bit of a time skip to the second day that they are there and Stephen was already put to work reading some rather interesting tomes, books, and scrolls of different styles of magic wielding techniques from other countries and the like. So there's something for you guys to look forward to. :) Please leave _**Detailed and long reviews**_! I enjoy speaking and chatting with my readers because that is how I roll. XD I love hearing from you guys and it makes my day (and night) to read your comments on this story. I'll see you guys later in the next chapter! :D

 _ **Question Time!:**_ Who has the best facial hair? Thor, Tony Stark, Stephen Strange or Peter Quill?

 ** _KEEP ON READING AND WRITING! :D_**


	15. Chapter 15

_**The Book Keeper**_

By TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 15**_

Stephen was shocked to the core of a freezing sensation of water being poured onto him. It woke him up immediately, but he sat up out of bed giving the dirtiest glare to the woman in front of him.

Master Lucia did the same thing yesterday morning before kicking him out of bed and with that dreamy look on her face she just smiled at him saying, 'It's time for work.' 18 hours of pure hell. It was spell after spell that she made him practice over and over again. And it exhausted him. Anaiah on the other hand was catching up on some tomes and scrolls that Master Lucia gave her and told her that she had 4 hours to read all of them and she would be testing her abilities to use those spells that she was studying.

Even though Anaiah was a Master, she still learned from others.

"Yes, Master Lucia?" He gritted his teeth.

"It's time to get up. You will be working in the water chambers down below." She smiled gently at him.

That smile only infuriated him, as he wiped off some of the water from his brow.

"What's in the water chambers?" He asked.

" Anaiah is downstairs already. I would suggest you hurry and get something to eat from the dining room. Breakfast is over in 15 minutes." She smiled warmly, ignoring his question, before she turned and left his room.

" _FIFTEEN MINUTES!?"_ His mind screamed.

He quickly got up, using some of the blankets that didn't get wet to dry himself, and he stumbled around his room getting his clothes on with shaking hands. He forgot to ask Anaiah if she could bring her brew with her. But it slipped his mind and his hands are being a pain, literally and figuratively. As soon as he put on his shoes, he took off running down the halls (which he memorized quite well when Anaiah was directing him to this part of the wing) and went to the dining room that was on the Northwest side of the castle.

He went down the stairs, taking two at a time, and kept running. He knew from experience (meaning yesterday) that if you don't get enough food off the dining table during the allotted time that Master Lucia made, you will be starving until lunch or dinner. And you have to eat quickly and you have to eat a lot, because she make you burn through energy like no other. It was like she was a drill Sargent.

He made it to the Dining room, which was a large room with a long table, covered with a silver and red tablecloth, and it was filled to the brim with breakfast food. He then saw Anaiah there by the end, piling food onto her plates. She must've gotten up early to make sure she grabbed what she needed.

"Better hurry up or there will be no food for you, Doctor." Anaiah spoke up,

He went into action, grabbing two plates and started piling foods onto it. He had sausages, breakfast rolls, bacon, sunny side up eggs, two bagels with a slathering of cream cheese on them, french toast (there was something he hadn't had for a while), and a healthy heaping of hash browns with ketchup.

He managed to pour orange juice into his glass and take it off the table before the food suddenly vanished, as if it was never there. He was a bit disappointed because he saw a batch of biscuits and gravy and he hadn't had some since he was a teenager. He looked over to Anaiah and saw that she balanced one plate on her left forearm while holding a plate on the same arm and was devouring what looked like to be waffles with eggs.

"Hungry? He asked before digging into his own food with much less gusto.

"Well, we are heading down to the water chambers. So we have to eat along the way." she spoke as she walked toward him and grabbed one of his place and balanced it on her left forearm with her other plate.

"Hey!" He yelped being robbed of his food.

"No time to argue. Move it, Doctor." She ordered as she continued eating her own food as she walked.

He followed close after, taking the bagel from his plate and eating it. She was rather good with balancing food on her arms and wondered if she does this often.

"So where are these water chambers?" He asked before he grabbed a couple of pieces of bacon and ate them.

"They are in the lower levels of the Monastery. There are two large chambers. One is a chamber of hot water, and it's used as a bathing room and The second room is a room for swimming and training of course" She said eating some biscuits and gravy.

He glowered at her for a moment or two for her eating that before he shook his head. He also saw that on her plates was much more food than he had on his plates.

"A bit much for you, that cannot be healthy." He stated.

"Back off," She said grumpily. "If Master Lucia is doing what I think we are doing, then we are in for a workout. You think yesterday's training was rough?"

He had a deadpan expression on his face as he was eating his food. Joy, he was going through hell. He kept following Anaiah was they were heading down a large set of stairs. There were torches that lit the way and the temperature dropped a little. He started to work on his french toast enjoying the taste of it before he hit the last step of the stairs.

"What will we be doing?" He asked.

"I know what I'll be doing. You on the other hand, I have no clue." She spoke up after finishing up her first plate before she started to eat the next one. "Master Lucia has different regimes for different apprentices and masters. I will be working on my shapeshifting skills down here."

"You mentioned that before…" He muttered before his train of thought immediately went to a possibility that she could be a mutant, but dismissed that.

"The Art of Shapeshifting is actually more difficult than it seems. I'm probably one the few who could shift into another person or even an animal more seamlessly than others." She explained.

"But that would require you forcefully changing your body's structure entirely. Your cells structure would have to change, the bones, the nerves,the tendons, muscles...everything!" He said as he looked at her with surprise.

She turned to head to look at him and smirked.

"Remember what Mordo said when you first came to Kamar-Taj? Forget everything you know? Technically it's not true. You don't have to be a brain surgeon to understand how to turn your body into something else...wait." She stopped for a moment with a dumbfounded look on her face.

Stephen just covered his mouth to stifle a chuckle. But he failed.

"Well, you are looking at one." He smirked at her.

"Shut up, I hate the mornings..." She muttered.

"Anyways…" She continued. "It took me 5 years to perfect the art of Shapeshifting. Especially when I have to shapeshift into animals. I can shift up to 50 animals now. If I want to shift into more animals, I have to find books that have a more detailed inner and outer workings of said animals. It's a tricky process, but it's doable."

"You can also change into different people as well? No illusions?" He asked.

"Well, trying to be a whole different person is a bit more tricky. Sure I can pull it off if I have a clean slate to work with. I could do the same thing I did before and take on your image, but that's a bit more tricky than placing an illusion on myself." she explained.

"Why would it be trickier? It's similar to the illusion that you've done before." He stated before he finished his plate, and grabbed the plate off of Anaiah's arm that had all his hash browns and eggs on it.

He noticed that she had a rather heavy blush on her face. Did she get a fever or something?

"Er...it's not that…" She stuttered.

That was weird. She doesn't usually stutter like that.

"It should be similar to your illusion spells, right? Just applying it already to yourself." He said as his mind was thinking of the possibilities of such a useful skill.

"Well...Shapeshifting, you have to make sure that...you have to have all the components of the person you may be masquerading as." The red flush was prominent on her face.

He didn't think he had seen a shade of red on her. What was she talking about? She paused in her walking and turned to him, the red flush still there. She sighed and shook her head.

"If I had to masquerade as a _MALE_ , Strange, I would have to switch out one genitalia for another." She emphasized.

Oh, that's why she was turning red, she was embarrassed. And Obviously he was a doctor, so that talk of such things didn't bother him as much, though that didn't mean that he didn't have fun at Anaiah's expense.

"I see, so you would become a hermaphrodite?" He raised an eyebrow, trying to keep a straight face, but he chuckled when she blushed an even deeper red, but she looked fed up at the same time.

"Up yours, Doctor Strange." She frowned as she picked up the pace.

He let out a laugh as he caught up with her. He was a dick he admitted it, but he couldn't help it. It was just too perfect.

"Just for that, I'm not going to help you when Master Lucia throws you into the pool." She said as she turned to the right after there was a wall in front of them.

"I didn't know you were that shy, Anaiah." He quipped.

"Damn Doctor and his wisecracks." He heard her mutter. "Heaven forbids he meets anyone else with just as much snark as he does."

He was about to reply when he smelled water. So they were at the pool already? They went through a small arched doorway and went down a short hall and they went into a well, he knew that the Monastery was large but to house this? This was insane.

The Pool (if you want to even call it that) was gigantic. It was the size of a football field and just as long as one. The room itself was large enough to hold it all as well. He looked up and saw that the ceiling was most likely 15 stories high. That shouldn't be plausible...wait...what was he thinking? Of course it was with the Mystic Arts.

The only thing that was unsettling is that the waters were a pitch black. That wasn't natural. The waters were equally unnaturally still. He heard the clinking of Anaiah's dishes being placed onto the floor. He turned and saw her rubbing the back of her neck and smiling down at the waters.

"This is going to be fun." She spoke before she leaned against the wall.

"Why would you say that?" He asked standing next to her as he finished up his hash browns.

"You obviously don't see them, do you?" She turned her head to him raising an eyebrow.

"See what?" He asked confused.

She pointed to the still waters and he looked to where she was pointing at. He honestly didn't see anything. He went closer to the edge to the water and peered down into it, but he still couldn't see what Anaiah was pointing to.

"I don't see anything." He furrowed his brows.

"You've yet to really see what truly lies beyond mortal eyes." The dreamy voice of Master Lucia spoke throughout the chamber.

He looked up and saw Master Lucia and she had changed her clothing. She was wearing a white tunic dress with a similar white bodice, but the borders of her dress was black. Her hair was up in a piled bun.

"In these waters are the water drakes. Practically harmless." She smiled innocently.

"Water Drakes?" He asked confused.

"Anaiah, are you ready to show me how much you've improved since you last were here?" Lucia turned to Anaiah, ignoring Stephen.

"I've been working on my half-shifting, though I can't say I've improved on that." She shrugged.

"We shall see. Please disrobe and enter the waters, we wouldn't want your clothes to be ruined after all." Lucia smile but for some reason, Stephen could see that the smile hid something.

But what was it?

He was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard the shuffling of clothes and something heavy being landed on the floor, his curiosity got the better of him and he turned around...only to see Anaiah wearing a halter top black bikini swimsuit.

" _Talk about a body…"_ He thought as he cocked his head sideways.

When he was in school for the medical field, he had observed many bodies. Short, tall, obese, thin, dark skinned to pale skinned, athletic, tattooed, pierced, and all sorts. From his experience, you can tell a lot about a person from their body.

He never really had a good look of Anaiah's body since the incident back in Kamar-taj. Of course, he was a respective doctor and had to put himself into that mindset, but here, nope. That wasn't really happening.

He knew that those who learn martial arts from Wong and the other Masters, were athletic and therefore toned. Anaiah's body was very much toned. For a slight thing that she is, he could see the muscles on her, though not very big, but just enough to show that she was a devoted student of the Martial arts. When really got his attention was her skin even as pale as it was and the white lines that were her scars.

He had seen the lightning scars on her arms and the jagged scar on her throat, but this was a whole new level. She had a rather interesting array of scars. Most if not all of the scars he could tell were cuts and slices. Others looked like she was clawed by something. What really got his attention was her back.

There were more scars that ran down the lengths of her back, like whipping scars. What did she do to gain those? Other than the scars over her body, she still looked pretty. But he noticed something else.

She lifted her arms to pulled her hair back in a ponytail, but he saw it. At the base of her neck where the head and spine met was a small black paw tattoo. A wolf's paw. He heard about micro-tattoos awhile back. There were pretty much the fad for the younger generation. It looked like it was the only tattoo she had.

He looked at the side that was hurt from the incident, and it looked like it was never there. That was weird to say the least.

"I see that you have added to your collection of scars, Anaiah." Lucia spoke gently.

"What can I say, They are memorable." She quipped before she turned to Stephen with an eyebrow raised.

Crap. Did she catch him staring at her?

"Aren't you going to be taking off your clothes too?" She asked.

"I...I didn't bring my swimsuit." He deadpanned, slightly relieved that she didn't catch him.

"Well that is unfortunate. You just may have to go in naked I guess."Lucia spoke up smiling.

"No." He turned to glare at Lucia.

"I'll go to the room down here, maybe I can find an extra pair." Anaiah spoke before turning around to go somewhere where hopefully she would get a pair of swim trunks for him.

He turned back to the water to avoid looking at a certain body part (Damn it Stephen!) and sighed. He didn't think to pack anything else other than the clothes, sling ring and a couple of book that was allowed to bring with him, he didn't think to pack something as mundane as swim trunks.

He peered into the still waters (which slightly creeped him out, water shouldn't be that unnaturally still.) trying to see what was in there.

"You said there are water drakes in there...what are they?" He asked.

"They are rather gentle creatures unless they are bred for battle." Lucia spoke softly.

"What?" He hoped he hadn't heard wrong.

"What?" She spoke with eyes wide as if she hadn't said anything.

"You said something about battle." He spoke as he narrowed his eyes.

"'Hmm, I would have said something pertaining to it, but I must've forgot." She said smiling as she tilted her head to the side.

He had a feeling she was mocking him. And he wasn't liking it.

"Here we go." He heard Anaiah behind him.

He stood up from his crouched position and saw the clothes in her hands. Not only did she find swim trunks for him (they were blue and white) she also found a swim shirt as well (also blue and white.).

"Thank you." He said as he looked around a bit.

"You will have to put them on here." Lucia chuckled before turning to Anaiah.

"Now, show me what you have learned from your time away from here." Lucia asked.

"Of Course, Master Lucia." Anaiah nodded before turning to walk to the edge of the waters.

She placed on bare foot on top of the waters and started walking across it. He could see the small mandalas coming from her feet as she was walking. She was using magic and directing it to her feet. How clever.

"What's next, turning wine into water?" He chuckled.

"What do you think?" Anaiah turned her head back to him smiling. "Christ wasn't just a Son of God you know."

Stephen's mind just halted. Granted he didn't really believe in Gods (though it was changing just slightly) that just shut him up. And that would explain everything of what may have happened in the Bible. The miracles and the like. He shook himself out of his stupor and saw the Lucia was focused on Anaiah. Anaiah was closing her eyes and was raising her arms up.

He took the opportunity to quickly change, not that he was shy, but he didn't want to expose himself as much as he has to. He put on the swim shirt just as Anaiah fell into the water.

He snapped his head up and walked to the edge of the water trying to find Anaiah's form. But he didn't see her. The water didn't leave any ripples.

"Where is she?" He asked before he jumped back in shock

In front of him was a blob of water and it suddenly took the shape of a circle then a mirror. He turned to the side and saw that Lucia was right there.

"Look into it, and you will find Anaiah." She spoke simply as she never once looked up at him.

He did so and he saw the mirror as clear as day, showed Amaiah underwater. But she was turning in the water and swimming rather quickly. He saw the transformation. She was turning herself into something else.

From her hips down. her legs were fusing together and blue and green scales were appearing on them. A tail ending into a fin. She also has some scales going up her spine and her arms. Her hair was flowing in the water and on her neck were two slitted gills. Her skin had taken on a blue pallor. Her eyes glowing a dim emerald green color. She looked just like the myths. A mermaid.

"Well, that's fascinating." He breathed finally.

He wondered how long Anaiah can hold that form.

"So she has improved. Half-shifting is a difficult skill to learn, but it seems that she has found balance." Lucia said dreamily.

Stephen was transfixed on Anaiah as she swam around. Doing loops, dives, and turns. Then something else appeared beside her as she was swimming.

" _What the..."_ He thought wondering what that was.

It had the body of a reptile but it was much larger and slender than one. It looked like…

"A dragon?" He said in disbelief.

"A water drake, Mister Strange." Lucia corrected.

"It's _**DOCTOR**_ Strange. _**DOCTOR**_." He sternly corrected.

But Lucia continued off as if she hadn't heard him.

"We found these particular breeds in Spain. They prefer the warm waters to breed before migrating up further north to Ireland where they would settle home. These drakes may have bodies of dragons, but they are wingless." Lucia explained.

"In the world of the supernatural, you will come across beings and beasts of the unknown." Lucia explained.

"Huh...well that's one hell of an eye-opener." He spoke as he observed Anaiah.

She grabbed hold of one of the horns of this particular water drake that protruded from its forehead, and held on for a swim. It was mesmerizing. To see her like this, she was smiling as other water drakes joined in for a swim, before she spread her arms outward and she let loose a spell that swirled the water around her. The drakes that were surrounding her followed the swirls that looked like it would become a whirlpool.

He was so into seeing the graceful movements of what was going on underwater that he never noticed Lucia walking behind him.

"You will find, Stephen Strange, that the Mystic Arts isn't just creating spells and hand weaving the ones that you have read from a book. But the Manipulation of the elements and your surroundings. You will eventually learn all of these things. But the hardest part of the Mystic arts is how to manipulate yourself. I hope you know how to swim." Lucia spoke eerily.

"What-" He was cut off when he was suddenly pushed off the ledge and into the water.

The water surrounded him and he was sinking. He was so surprised that he was pushed into the water that it went up his nose and into his mouth. He was going to drown! He panicked and tried to swim upward but the shock of the cooler water rendered his limbs useless. He saw nothing but the dark and he quit struggling.

He closed his eyes and he could feel the sting of the water in his lungs. Great, He was going to die. Murdered by a strange woman who seemed like someone from a fantasy world and he didn't even get to tell Christine he was sorry.

He then felt warm hands wrapping softly around his neck and throat. He opened his eyes and saw Anaiah in her mermaid form with worried eyes. She seemed to take a deep breath and he heard her speak.

"Take deep breaths, Doctor. I know that it's a shock the first time around, but manipulate your magic to your lungs and take deep breaths." She spoke, he voice seemingly echoing throughout the waters.

He did as she focused the warm magic that was in his body to his lungs and he did as instructed. Taking deep breaths and calming himself. He was breathing underwater! It felt...strange to say the least.

"How...and...that crazy…" He glared upward to the surface.

"Master Lucia is a Sadist." He growled.

"Don't say that, she was trying to help you." She admonished.

"Help me to what? To drown?" He snarked.

"No. what did she tell you?" She asked.

"She told me that she hoped I can swim." He muttered darkly.

"She does have an odd sense of humor." she stated.

"You call that humor?" He glared at her.

"That isn't the point. What was she telling you before she threw you into the water?" She asked.

"She said...the hardest part of the Mystic Arts is using it to manipulate yourself." He replayed the words to her.

She let go of his neck and throat and did a loop backwards. Now that he has a closer look at her she seemingly took a position that looked like she was sitting down.

"This is true. Manipulating magic into your body, rather than surrendering yourself to use such power is rather tricky and difficult. I mean, look at me, I'm using a lot of magic to keep myself in this form. This is one of the trickier ways of shapeshifting which is half-shifting. One half of myself is still human, the other half an animal of some sort." She explained.

"But for you, you have to learn to manipulate magic into your body, Magic isn't as rigid as some make it out to be." she said as she waved to the surrounding body of water.

He felt something bump into him and turned around to see reptilian face in front of him. He swam backward in fright for a moment before bumping into Anaiah.

She let out a giggle before she placed her arms over his shoulders and placed her head on top of his. The gesture felt strangely intimate.

"Don't worry, they are harmless. Like big puppy dogs." She chuckled.

"Dogs with teeth." He muttered as one swam up to him.

It was a strange thing. If he were to compare the beast to another reptilian animal, he would choose a monitor lizard. Except larger, and with blue and brown scales and with actual horns protruding and curving back from it's forehead. And much more slender than its bulky cousins. It tilted its head at him before it swam around the two of them and took off swimming.

Anaiah took ahold of his hand and pulled him along. He couldn't really swim that well due to the fact that his body was still recovering from that car crash. His bones ached, and his muscles were protesting a little from the activity, (not as bad as when he was training and learning Martial Arts) but his hands were a bit useless underwater. At least Anaiah was guiding him through the dark waters.

"Normally, Master Lucia would be sending spell after spell throughout the water to hit one of us when myself and others would train here. But I think she's giving you a break from that." She smirked at him.

"I don't believe that for a second." He deadpanned.

"Come On Strange, Let's get you out of the water." She chuckled.

After his little dip, Lucia had him try to walk upon the water like Anaiah did. And he failed many times before he was able to somewhat steadily walk upon the water without too much trouble. To manipulate the magic through his body to his feet wasn't exactly cake.

Some of the water drakes had popped their head above the still waters to see what the commotion was on the surface and he swore that they were laughing at him.

At least he managed to learn another aspect of the Mystic Arts. Master Lucia took it upon herself to teach him how to manipulate water. Simple spells that didn't require words or the like. It was simply taking a flowing being and making it move and bend to his will. It wasn't easy but it was interesting to work it out.

He was able to leave after a while, Anaiah on the other hand was sticking around to train with Lucia. He was pretty tired. After almost drowning, making sure that he can breath underwater, and that little swim, he was pretty much exhausted.

He decided to take a nap for a while.

When he woke up later in the day, and he was grateful for the break, He realized that it was just a little past evening. He got up and went to the glass window and looked outside. The snow was gently falling now, and the winter landscape seemed more kinder than it was when he came here. There was always something interesting about winter. The emptiness and the cold that came with it. But there was beauty in it. He had to say that.

He turned around and left his room. He wanted to walk for a while. The Halls were large, something that looked like it came out of a fantasy world. The Walls had tapestries and even some relics in glass cases. He paused as a few of them and observed them but they didn't hold his interest for that long. Though he did recall seeing a rather intricate ax in the foyer of the Monastery.

He had noticed that everywhere he looked everything had a place. Everything was clean. It was odd to him to say the least. For a sole person to live here, it would take a long time to clean everything.

He turned a corner and he noticed that there was an open door just down the hall. Was someone in there? He walked to the open door and peered into the room. It was dark and he couldn't see anything, but he saw a glint of something shining in the dark. Curiosity peaked he walked into the room. The door close behind him and he turned around to find out why, only to see no one there.

"Well that's not ominous." He shook his head.

This room was dark with a little bit of light that seemed to come from the skylight above. He could see various shapes under white sheets. He believed that he was in a storage room of some sort. He heard something from his left side and turned towards it.

"Hello? Is someone here?" He asked as he moved through the maze of covered items.

Something caught the corner of his eye and he turned to see… a mirror?

The mirror was shined down by the skylight of the dying winter's day. It was large enough to show his reflection. The frame was ornate with clawed feet and it had words inscribed on the top.

 _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

He blinked a couple of times. What were these words? In the midst of him trying to figure out what they are, he heard something behind him.

"I see that you have found the Mirror of Erised." He heard the dreamy voice of Master Lucia.

He turned around and saw her. This time he noticed that her eyes, instead of the blank dreamy stare, it was like chips of ice but he saw sadness in there too. Like she didn't like him being here. He noticed that he hands were twitching just a little. Like she wanted to whip out a weapon and stab him right then and there.

This made him be on guard. He didn't know what Master Lucia was capable of, but he didn't want to find out.

"What is it?" He asked.

"This is the Mirror of Erised. It was given to me for safekeeping as it was becoming dangerous to many. This is one of many places to keep dangerous relics, weapons, and other such things for safekeeping." Lucia spoke as she stood by his side.

"Safekeeping?" He questioned. "How is this dangerous?"

"Look at the words engraved onto the gold." She saw and she pointed to the words on the mirror.

" _I show not your face, but your heart's desire._ You will see what many would want to see. Fame, Fortune, Love, and even those who have been long gone from ages past." She whispered.

This sent chills up his spine.

"The Sorcerer who gave this to me, told me that it was a memento of his Mentor, but had no desire to see it in the wrong hands. Of course, when he looked in the mirror one last time he was able to turn away from it." She closed her eyes and sighed before opening them again and into the mirror.

"Many men would waste away in front of this mirror. Even driven to the point of insanity for want of their desires. I too, see what I desire in the mirror, though such desire is far from me, I understand my position in this world, and thus am able to turn away from it." She said as she then looked up at him with an odd look in her eyes. "Tell me. Doctor Strange...what do you see in the mirror?"

He thought she was mad. The strange tic that she had, her hands twitching and she shook her head minutely. But she was a Master. She knows a lot more than he does.

"What would I see in the mirror?" He asked.

"I know not your hearts wants and desires, Strange...only you do." She spoke eerily as she stepped away from his side.

He felt colder than ever. But how can such an item show what the heart wants? His own desires? He stepped up close to the mirror and looked into it.

He didn't see anything at first but he saw that he was whole again. He saw himself wearing a pristine suit and he looked ready for a formal , articulate, he looked a man unchanged by his so called accident. He had Christine by his side and everything seemed right in the world. He had his position as head neurosurgeon back and he became well known in the world.

He reached out to the mirror before it suddenly fluctuated. The reflection showed another scene. Something completely different from the first scene. While the first was was his possible life with his hands restored. This one seemed to show him with his still damaged hands. But he was wearing his sorcerer's robes. The same clothes he has on.

In this reflection he saw the Ancient One, Mordo, Wong, and Anaiah behind him. All there supporting him. They never judged him by his hands, they treated him as an equal and nothing lesser. For some reason even thinking about the first scene brought him heartache. For the people that he met at Kamar-Taj was close to friends and family as he could get. They were there for him.

He stepped back from the mirror and he blinked; turned his head away and fully turned his back on the mirror. He felt his heart pounding in his ears, his hands shaking, his head was hurting. He was gasping for air as he fell to his knees trying to right himself.

"What did you see I wonder?" He heard the voice of Lucia.

He heard her footsteps come closer and closer.

"Sometimes Doctor Strange, The Mirror feeds off of the souls of the weak." He saw her feet near his head. "Tell me, Doctor Strange...are you weak or are you strong?"

He got up as quick as lightning and ran from Master Lucia, away from the Mirror and away from the room. His mind was reeling back like the first time he met the ancient one. But this time, it hit him in his heart.

He finally stopped running, and he noticed that he was in front of Anaiah's room. He needed some sort of reassurance. And He knocked on the door, many times.

"I'm coming!" He heard her voice.

The door unlocked and opened and he forced his way into her room.

"Strange, what the hell…?" She was about to scold him when she looked into his face.

He may not have noticed that his eyes were red from tears and his body was shaking. From what? Anger? Sorrow? Regret? Pain? She didn't know. All she knew was that he needed someone to talk to.

She took him by the arm gently and guided him to her bed. She had him sit down and she sat right next to him. She spoke not a word. The silence only broken by his erratic breathing and shaking nerves.

He heard her sigh beside him.

"You saw the Mirror..."

It wasn't a question. She knew that the Mirror of Erised was here. What sort of person or being would create such a thing? To show the user's heart's desire against them? It should be destroyed

"You are not the only one who felt the pull of the mirror." Anaiah said as she stood up.

He looked up at her with a questioning look on her face.

"The Mirror Of Erised can pull anyone, Masters, Students, anyone old or young, into its grasp. I'm one of those." She shrugged.

"What did you see?" He asked her.

She had a rather pained expression on her face.

"I...can't say." She furrowed her eyebrows. "It's complicated. The reason why I broke away from the Mirror's hold was because my past does not define my future. I can choose where I go and what I do. Nothing can change my decisions to be made. I can fail again, and again, and again, but I will always get back up no matter the cost."

"You are saying we have a choice." He stated.

She turned to him with a broken smile.

"Yes. We all have choices. They all come with consequences and they can either be good or bad. They could lead us to roads unknown or to places you could never have dreamed of." She pointed out to him.

He thought back to the images of the mirror. He had choices. He could have remained ignorant and lived his life still being a doctor, or the choice he made to speed in the car and wrecked himself in a car crash and drove him to find Karmar-Taj, becoming a Sorcerer in the process.

He came to Kamar-Taj to heal his hands, but instead he found something more than to just heal them. His thirst for knowledge and understanding of the Mystic Arts had overtaken him. But he couldn't help but just keep learning about them. He didn't voice these thoughts out loud to Anaiah though.

"Why have such a thing in existence?" He asked.

She shrugged.

"Many of the Sorcerers and sorceresses of the old times have made many artifacts, relics, and spell books. Some created artifacts to help mankind, other created them for destruction. Many created them to achieve the heights of higher beings and those who wish to have darkness as their minions. There are many who want the souls of men destroyed…" She paused in her words.

"Some…" She halted before continuing. "Some men want to watch the world burn."

Silence went between them so Stephen stood up and decided to leave the room.

"Stephen…" She spoke catching his attention.

He looked back behind him and saw a stern look in her eyes.

"Don't look for the Mirror. Trust me...it doesn't do well to dwell on dreams of the past and wish for a better future." She said cautiously.

"This coming from experience?" He asked.

"Yes...I'd rather look to the future than to seek the past to change it all." She nodded.

Stephen left without a word. He had many things to think about.

* * *

 _ **TAL21:**_ Okay, So this is chapter fifteen and it's one of a longer chapter. Ha...The Next chapter will (maybe) be the last chapter before we go back into the movie arc of the story. To those who pointed it out, Yes I added a hint of Beauty and the Beast. I love that movie very much. I hoped you liked this chapter. A pretty good dosages of humor before a jarring shift of mood to the Mirror of Erised. And Yes, I did take it from the Harry Potter world, #sorrynotsorry. XD I figured it would be interesting to see what his heart's desire was. In the rough draft of this chapter, I was originally going to use his family, but it went way too dark way too fast for my liking. So I switched it up a little bit. The Mirror give him pretty much two of his heart's desires. One life to go back to his Career as a doctor and becoming great again or humble himself to be surrounded by close friends who pretty much care for him alot. So that is what I stuck with. Also, I am a Christian and personally I thought I was being funny when I was using Christ as him being a sorcerer (which would be blasphemy, I know. XD) Marvel comics have a different basis for religion in there. If you look in their many comics there are Catholics, Jews, Buddhists, Muslim and a who lot more. So I figured why the hell not. XD Also, Anaiah isn't a morning person. She does not like dealing with Stephen's crap in the morning. XD I hoped you liked master Lucia in this chapter. She still just as mysterious, but she had that vibe that just sends chills down your spine. XD ON TO THE _**SHOUT OUTS!** _

_**GetLegsBish-Aiya:**_ Ah, medication, my old friend. Trust me, I know what it is like to be on an accidental high dosage. Flying higher than a kite and my brothers were enjoying themselves by making me blabber on and on. XD Anyways, Yes, Lucia called him a stray. She does that to everyone. XD As yes, We usually see Stephen as someone who is rule abiding in the comics...here and the MCU...not so much. He'll get into trouble just you wait!

 _ **Sparky She-Demon:**_ You'll have to find out Aries personality in the companion fic which I hope to be updating soon. XD Also I would cast Marie Avgeropoulus as Anaiah. She looked perfect for the role. XD

 _ **CJ/Oddball:**_ When you have the chance, go watch the animated movie. It is such a gem. XD I'm glad that you enjoyed the previous chapter and kept you on your toes. Trust me, my story telling knows no bounds. XD As for the Sneak Peeks, there is a lot of things going on, but you will be seeing them in due time. :) I thoroughly enjoy reading your lengthy reviews! They give me something to look forward to. :)

 _ **Guest:**_ I'm glad that this is a bit suspenseful for you! I'm trying to add a lot of different kinds of elements that would fit into the chapters and I kinda hope for the best. And Yes, Lucia is definately strange (no pun intended) but she is definitely someone you don't want to cross. No matter how naive and innocent she looks. As for the Ancient One's name, it was kinda tricky at first but I had to do a bunch of different searches so that it wasn't too generic for her. I do like Aleris, but unfortunately, I already have a couple Ocs with an A name. So Morwyn it is. It just stuck out to me more. :)

 _ **Kalanna:**_ Yes I do like leaving people in suspense. I enjoy it and it is my guilty pleasure. XD I'm glad that you liked the Beauty and the Beast reference, and the Mirror of Erised. Trust me, it wasn't easy plugging them in. As for Master Lucia, you'll find out what she really is. Trust me, it's pretty big. At least to me that is. XD

 _ **TAL21:**_ That's it for the _**Shout outs!**_ I hope you guys enjoy this longer chapter and I hope to see some _**awesome and long review** **s**_ for it! I hope that some parts of it was funny to you and I hope that you guys enjoy the interaction between the characters. It's going to be a doozy in the next one. XD I hope you guys have a good day and I look forward to reading what you have thought about the story so far! I love reading your reviews because I can communicate with my readers on a different level. :) I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

 _ **Question Time!:**_ Two amazing trailers came out. The Last of Us 2 and Guardian's of the Galexy Vol. 2. In your opinion (where you answer to both subjects or not), what where your favorite parst and what are you looking forward to see in the game/movie?

 _ **KEEP ON READING AND WRITING!**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**The Book Keeper**_

By TimeAndLife21

* * *

 _ **Chapter 16**_

The next couple of days flew by quickly. Between reading complicated spells to defensive spells and even Martial arts training, Stephen had a full schedule and it wasn't stopping. Master Lucia, he believed, was a cruel woman. Behind that dreamy facade, he knew there was something underneath it. He didn't know what it is, it just kept him on edge.

Today was training with Anaiah in the main foyer where the grand staircase was at. This is where they will be fighting. Now to be fair, he never really saw her at the practices where Wong and Mordo would show how to defend yourself, mostly because she would be in the library, but here, he was going to be fighting against her. She was wearing her usual green and silver robes but she had attached to her hip, the white cross that she had. He didn't really have a weapon or a relic to fight her with so he was a bit hesitant to go against her. He wondered where her scythe was at.

Master Lucia on the other hand was nowhere to be found. Usually she would be rattling on about many different things from spells and relics when it came to applying them to fighting.

"Where is Master Lucia?" He asked looking around for the woman.

"She will be staying in her Wing for the time being. She said something came up and she had to take care of it." She shrugged.

He wondered what was in the East Wing and why they should be staying away from it . Sure Stephen has wandered around the monastery (and avoiding any opened rooms that may lead him to the damned mirror again) but he never thought about entering the East Wing until today.

"Something came up?" He asked suspiciously.

"She probably won't be able to observe us," Anaiah spoke as she unhooked her cross from her hip and held it at the handle. "She did say that it was important."

He dropped the subject for the time being and motioned to her relic.

"What is that?" He asked.

"This is the Beatrice Cross." She spoke smirking as she raised it up to the side of her face, the light emitting from it had lit her face up. "It's an old relic. The stories behind it is rather…unbelievable sure, but it's history is…crazy to say the least."

"How is a Cross a weapon?" He asked not really believing that something like that would make much damage.

He could probably hit someone over the head with it, maybe stab them in the eye, but he wasn't sure how it could be useful to go against an opponent.

"This Cross was supposedly in the hands of Dante Alighieri." She spoke.

Now that name rang a bell.

"Didn't he write the Divine Comedy?" He asked.

Well he was learning a lot of new things about history of the past. Seemed like there are many prominent figures in history that were sorcerers and sorceresses.

She nodded.

"That is correct. He was also a Sorcerer as well. This Cross was his light and one of his rather dangerous weapons to use when he was sent to Hell itself to find a soul that didn't belong there." She said as she held the cross in front of her. "Stay still for me, this might sting you a bit."

"Wait, what are you-" He didn't get to speak another word as Anaiah thrust the cross at his direction and he saw several ghost like shining crosses emitting from it and hitting him full on.

He was blasted back and hit the floor dazed. His mind was scattered a bit and he just laid there on the floor, apparently a bit shocked to do anything.

Anaiah stood over him with a smile.

"That was for making fun of me about my shapeshifting abilities. And had you been taken over by a soul that isn't yours or if you were possessed, this cross would have banished and burned the person possessing you and the like. It's one of my go to weapons to even blind and stun my enemies who are not connected to the Dark Dimension or even Hell itself." She smirked down at him.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" He drawled at her.

"Oh very much so. Now get up. If Master Lucia was here, she would have been attacking you from the get go." She reached out her hand and he took it.

After getting him off the floor, he brushed himself off.

"Master Lucia wouldn't be going easy on me?" He asked.

"She definitely won't… Her relic is The Snake Sword of Valentine. It's an old relic that is very dangerous." She sighed. "The rumor is that she has been in possession of the sword for a very long time, it had never left her side. To be honest, I would hate to be toe to toe with Master Lucia."

"If you can even call it that." He grumbled.

"Now, my relic is more of a defensive relic than anything else. If I can, I would use the Cross instead of Ebony." She stated.

This confused Stephen. Why would she use a different relic when she is fighting, instead of using a scythe?

"I don't use Ebony often. When I do, I use her to make a point or when I need to defend myself in a much more dangerous situation. By using her, she increases my power a tenfold." She explained.

"Increases your magic?" He blinked.

He could just imagine the implications.

"Just by using the scythe increases your magic, you could do much more powerful spells." He came to the conclusion.

"Yes…and no." She waved her hand in a so-so manner. "I'm a bit of a special case. The relics I wield are tied to my magic and my spirit. But they are both different in many ways. Ebony is more tied to my emotions than My Cross. With The Cross, I use it with insane levels of magic to defeat my enemies." She explained.

"You never really spoke about your scythe though." He pointed out.

"Ebony…is a relic that has had previous masters who used her for evil." She winced.

"You gave your relic a name and gender?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What? I can't just keep calling 'it' Reaper of souls. The name itself is a mouthful and 'it' kept complaining of it's beauty being tarnished if she was behind glass again. Not to mention she is a sentient relic." She explained.

"Is the Cross sentient?" He pointed to the cross in her hands.

"Not really no, The Cross itself is more or less a holy relic. Most of it's power is still unknown to me." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Its interesting to know that there are sentient relics and non-sentient relics…I wonder how it works?" He muttered to himself.

"Ebony is sentient because of the magic that embodies her. She is imbued with ancient magics that is much older the the world around us. I would wager she was created around the time the First Sorcerer Supreme was around. Not even I know of her origins." She explained. "The cross on the other hand is the complete opposite. When Dante created this cross, he used White Magic or Holy Magic if you really want to be religious about it, and used it for purifying souls and the like. Ebony on the other hand…" She trailed off.

"Punishes souls." Stephen finished.

That…was a terrifying prospect. A very terrifying prospect, why does she have the power to punish souls? At least he knows he can trust her. He would hate to be on the other side fighting her.

She nodded grimly before sighing slowly.

"The relic chooses you. Imagine my shock when Ebony choose me and the cross followed soon after. Both very dangerous, but better with me than anyone else." She shrugged.

"What about Lucia's relic?" He asked.

"The Snake Sword of Valentine is an old sword. Very dangerous, and very sharp. It was said to be a part of rather...interesting past. Its history lost in the world of the past. Lucia acquired it from a dying sorceress, who had fought a war. As far as I know, Lucia has carried this sword for a very long time. And It has had no other master than her." Anaiah explained.

"Sounds Dangerous." He smirked.

"Master Lucia is dangerous." Anaiah said reluctantly, before shifting into a fighting stance with a growing smile. "But I'm just as dangerous as she is."

He also shifted into a fighting stance and they both circled each other.

"You, dangerous?" He taunted.

"You've never sparred with me before, so I'm unknown to you." she spoke before she switched to a different stance.

"I could beat beat you." He raised an eyebrow.

"Ha! Just don't go easy on me. Give me all you've got." She chuckled with smirk at him.

"I don't like fighting woman." He snarked.

"Sexist much?" She frowned before she ran at him.

This took him off-guard before he dodged her punch. For a moment he swore that her hands glowed green for a moment, before he back away from her.

"It's not that…" He said as he managed to block a kick from her, it jarred him a little of the strength behind her. She may be small but she was quick as well.

She managed to use her other foot and kicked him back, forcing him to go onto the defensive.

"I don't want to mar that pretty face." He smirked at her.

"Oh you think I'm pretty now? You are going to love me when I wipe the floor with you." She taunted.

"I'm taller than you, short stuff." He grinned back.

"We going for the short jokes now? How low of you, Strange." She rebutted as she took off towards him.

She was quick, he will give her that. He grabbed her punch but she managed to twist around and use her other fist to punch his side. He gritted his teeth in pain and tried to kick her off to the side but she slipped away and was on her toes as she bounced around him before she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his shoulders and flipped him down to the ground.

"Rule number one for those of the vertically challenged: You are smaller and faster. You, one the other hand, I can use your weight against you." She chuckled as he struggled against her.

Stephen's pride wouldn't allow him to take a loss that easily. But before he could retaliate, she got off of him and jumped back little, giving him time to get back up on his feet. He was sure that he would have a bruise on his shoulder blades later.

"How long have you trained?" He spoke as he raised his fists again.

"I've been trained in the ancient arts since I was a child. I had to learn to take every advantage I have on the person I was fighting. Know their weakness, their strengths, and how to take them out permanently and temporarily." She explained as she placed herself in a fighting stance again, ready to strike.

"You for example…If I wanted to, I would take you out by aiming for your hands and disable you permanently…" She smiled darkly as her eyes had bled into the emerald green that would signify that she was using her magic.

This sent shivers up his spine. Anaiah was dangerous, he knew this, but this was probably the first time she would have ever threatened him.

"But Because I have morals and I consider you one of my dearest friends, you are safe from me." She chuckled.

"I'm a dear friend?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You should be honored." she chuckled as she shifted into a different stance again. "I don't give out my friendships that easily…"

She took off at him again, and he decided to turn the tables. He summoned the Crimson Whips of Cyttorak and used the energy whips. He slashed at her but she dodged, going underneath the whip that was aimed at her. She landed on all fours, which was odd to him, but he noticed something interesting happening. There was fur growing around her wrists. He acted quickly. He threw the whip around in her general direction, but every time when he though he got her, she would managed to get away. And she was getting closer.

He twisted himself around and let loose the whip and he hit her, flinging her back into the ground, but she got back up just as quickly.

"Ha…nice hit." She said as she stood up and wiped at her face.

He felt a little sick that he left a mark on her. Her left side of her face had a darkening bruise across her cheekbone, but she had a rather strange grin on her face. She let her arms hang loose as she started to circle him.

"Sorry…I warned you that I would mar your face." He joked a little, even though he flinched a bit.

He was a Doctor, not a soldier or a fighter.

"Oh, I've had worse… but that was and interesting way to make your opponent back away that is for sure…but now time for me to step it up. Defend yourself Stephen, use what you have learned." She spoke before somehow disappearing in thin air.

His senses were on alert before he hear something behind him, he managed to bring up his Mandala of Light shield to block Anaiah's kick. But she didn't stop there. She was picking up the pace and she landed hard hits and kicks to his arms, shoulders, back, legs, he was getting beaten by her. He created the whip again and flung it at her and she lifted her arm and caught the end of the whip with her arm. She ripped it out of his hands, the magic disappearing and she ran at him full force.

She jumped up into the air and he saw an amazing transformation. Her magic surrounded her and she turned into a black and white furred Wolf. A wolf with horns? He didn't really had time to digest what happened when he found himself pinned to the ground with a maw roaring down at him, a deadly paw was holding him down a bit, but he didn't really do much to fight back, he was just too stunned.

The green eyes of the wolf were glowing and it was growling down at him. This wasn't a regular sized wolf, this wolf was probably the size of a lion...maybe a horse… It lifted it's paw up off of his chest and slammed near his head. He was too stunned to move. He flicked his eyes to the paw beside his head, thick and sharp black claws was close to his face.

" _Holy Mother of God…"_ He thought looking back up at her.

She was baring her teeth and growling.

"You are not fighting back." She spoke growling.

A wolf speaking? He heard her voice, and the wolf above him shifted a bit before he noticed the fur receding, her facial features becoming human again, the black horns receding back into her skull, it was a fascinating process. Not like when she was changing from human to a mermaid, but this was just as fascinating. Her maw shrunk and became smaller and he saw her body mass shrinking back to her normal small self. He was about to ask to have her change into the horned wolf again a bit slower so that he could observe her, but that didn't happen and he then realized that she was on top of him.

It took him a second to find that Anaiah was back to her normal self and was still hovering above him. She had a slightly annoyed look on her face and she looked pretty disappointed. Probably because he didn't fight back.

"You're dead. Had I been anyone else, I would have ripped into your neck and devoured your flesh or worse." She deadpanned.

"Well forgive me that I just saw something that just took my breath away. Really, do you enjoy changing into animals that much?" He snipped back his eyes not leaving her face.

And it took him a lot of self discipline to not looked down at her body. Granted she was wearing clothes, but with Anaiah this close to him, he could see the fighter and woman that she was. And she was definitely a fighter…a beautiful fighter to say the least. He could feel the heat coming off from her and it took everything he had to _not_ pull her towards his body.

"It's a useful skill, Strange. If I can catch my opponents off guard at anytime, I would take the advantage and take them out." She spoke as she lowered herself closer to him.

" _Hello X-rated thoughts…No! Not the time to think about that!"_ He blinked away the thoughts before he closed his eyes and sighed.

"So…this is one of your tactics as well?" He asked as he opened them again.

She smiled. Not just any smile though. It was a smile that sent warm shivers down his spine and he felt like some sort of prey being played with by a predator. He was prey, she was predator…and it was hot.

"Ive learned that many feminine tactics work pretty well with certain types of males…looks like you are one of them." She said as she lifted her hand and patted him on the side of the face sarcastically.

He let out a disbelieving chuckle as she got up off of him as stood off to the side, holding out a hand. It took him a moment before he reached out and she pulled him off the floor, feeling his muscles protest in response. He forced his body to calm down from the reaction on being in close contact with Anaiah.

"So, what have we learned here?" She stood on front of him with an eyebrow raised.

"Don't underestimate the short ones?" He quipped.

"Don't let your enemies take you off-guard. I'm sure Mordo gave you the speech that if you don't fight seriously, you will find yourself killed." She shook her head with a small smile.

"And don't stand there like a dumbstruck idiot either. Just because you have been introduced to a new aspect of the Mystic Arts, doesn't mean you have to halt what you are doing to examine it."

"You noticed that?" He flushed.

"Please, I could see the gears turning in your mind." She laughed.

"A horned wolf though? That is an interesting mix." He raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged a bit before shaking out herself out.

"I try to merge animals together as well. Shapeshifting is a delicate art, as I have explained before." She mentioned.

"How are you even able to do that?" He asked.

He noticed the pause that she gave him before turning to him with a focused look on her face as she was thinking of something hard.

"You know…I'm not even sure how to explain that I can do it. Illusions of being other people is easy enough, but to _**turn**_ into them and turning into other Animals and mixing them together requires a lot of training. Even some of the older masters who have studied the Art of Shapeshifting for many years could only shift just enough to look like a different person, or just two or three animals." She frowned. "I on the other hand have just mastered it this years. And I have been working on it since I was 16."

He blinked a little bit before he asked.

"How old are you again?"

She turned to him slightly miffed.

"Don't you know it's rude to ask a Lady's age?" She snarked at him.

"I'm a doctor, So that is moot to me." He shot back smirking.

"Fine, Just barely turned 28 last month." She answered turning from him.

" _Twenty-eight? She looks much younger than that. Then again, The Ancient One doesn't look any older than 50 at least."_ He furrowed his brows in thought.

"Before you blow a gasket, using the Mystic Arts slows down aging, not forever though. We all age and die eventually, but using the Mystic Arts can slow down the aging process, but it depends on how often you use it." She explained.

"Like some sort of Fountain of Youth?" He asked with surprise.

"Oh, you want the Fountain of Youth? Sorry, you would have to travel many leagues under the Earth to get there." She shook her head chuckling. "But using magic can slow down the aging process to a point."

"Like the Ancient One?" He asked remembering that Mordo said that she was centuries old.

She flinched, it was so minute that he barely caught it. Did he hit a nerve there or something?

"The Ancient One…" She paused. "Her longevity is unknown to many. How she is able to survive this long into these modern times is still a mystery." She shrugged it off.

That effectively ended the conversation, but he would keep it in his mind for a while.

"So, should we try to fight again?" He asked getting into another fighting stance.

She nodded before she also got into a fighting stance.

"Just don't freeze again." She jabbed.

"No promises…" He muttered before he threw the first punch.

* * *

He groaned as he was walking down the steps to the water chambers. He was sore all over. Anaiah thoroughly kicked his ass. He had to admit, she was a talented fighter. She gave him a lot of pointers and even taught him to focus his other senses to avoid hits from her. Though he was a bit poor in that area, he told himself that he would practice in his spare time.

Right now, a hot bath was paramount right now. He even brought his borrowed swim trunks and shirt with him. As he turned to the left where the corridor ended, he could feel the air becoming a bit more humid as he walked. He came to a set of stairs and he walked down them.

As he reached the end of the stairs, he was in a room where it looked like a locker room so to speak, but it had wooden lockers instead of metal ones and there was a towel rack that held a multitude of towels. He took off his normal robes and put on his swim trunks and swim shirt, placing the robes in the wooden lockers. He grabbed a red towel and walked over to where it looked like an entrance to the Bathing room.

He opened the door as saw a deep pool of clear, hot water. It looked like a natural spring. The floor was bumpy with smooth stones, the pool edges were also smooth as well and there was what looked like stairs to go down into it. He looked around as saw that there was what looked like a waterfall at the far end of the pool.

He was looking forward to relaxing in this pool. He placed the towel on a hook by the entrance and went in. The floor of the pool has what seemed like rough, small, black pebbles, but it felt good on his aching feet. He went deeper in and found that by the edges of the pool there were seats that were carved into them He found a seat that when he sat down the water went up to his upper chest.

The water was very hot, but it felt good on his aching muscles. He had quite a few bruises on his body from Anaiah that are being soothed by the hot waters. He leaned his head back onto the curved edge and closed his eyes.

He had learned a lot in these past months, It was bizarre to him. How everything that had happened to him had lead him up to this point. A once well known Neurosurgeon, falling from grace and then becoming a Sorcerer? It was just impossible to think of, but it wasn't a dream. It really was a reality.

He let his mind empty of thoughts, just enjoying the soothing heat of the waters, the rough pebbles on the floor for his feet, and he went into a meditative state. He didn't know how long he was in this state.

He heard a feminine sigh and a splash of water, which made him open his eyes. He sat up and looked around in the steam. He caught sight of a figure by the waterfall. It was definitely feminine.

"Hello?" He called out.

"Strange? Well I shouldn't be too surprised that you are here." He heard Anaiah's voice through the steam before he heard a bunch of more splashing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were here." He spoke thinking of a way to leave.

"It's fine. Trust me, Do you honestly think that I wouldn't be here wearing my swimsuit if the only Male in the Monastery wouldn't walk in?" He heard her before he heard another sigh and he could see ripples in the water.

Anaiah was wearing her black halter swimsuit, but she had a residue of suds on her shoulders and hair. It seemed she has been here for a while if the wrinkling of her hands meant anything. But he had a view of her body yet again, and this time he was glad of his discipline of keeping his body under control. His mind went back to earlier today when he was pinned down by her. He was lucky that the warm waters and the steam covered up the red that showed up on his face.

" _I really need to stop thinking about her."_ He thought sighing.

She came closer and shook her head with a chuckle.

"I'm not sure if you keep stalking me or following me, Doctor, but we have got to stop meeting like this." She gave him a sarcastic smile.

"It's not my fault I'm so good looking." He spoke as he ran his wet hand through his hair.

"Oh yes, that is exactly why I keep running into you." She rolled her eyes before taking a seat a couple of feet away from him.

She cupped her hands in the water and poured some on her head to rinse away the suds of whatever she used away off of her body. She ran her hand through her long hair before she twisted it around before take a clip off of her halter top and putting it in her hair to keep it there, giving him a look at her slender neck and the small wolf paw tattoo.

"That tattoo you have, is that the only one you have?" He asked.

"Yeah, I got it when I became an apprentice at 17. It's a bit of a rite of passage for those who become of age and be deemed an apprentice. Others have detailed tattoos, some only have one." She sighed before sinking a bit into the heated waters.

"Does it have a meaning?" He asked her.

Most tattoos have meanings. He had a few colleges back in college that had a few meaning something dear to them.

"To me, it's a mark of my Loyalty to the Sorcerer Supreme." She spoke softly. "She took me in when I was on the streets. She clothed me, gave me food and shelter… She taught me everything there is pertaining to the Mystic arts. You could say that she is like a Mother to me."

"She does have that kind of air about her." Stephen thought out loud.

"She does doesn't she? Especially when arrogant apprentices decide to use the sling ring to take books from libraries." She grinned.

"Come on, you and Wong ratted me out." He groaned.

"We had to, you were doing a lot of self-study and skipped classes." She glared at him.

"I've been doing well with studying on my own so far." He defended himself.

"Yes, though it pains me to say that you have been excelling a lot farther than any other Apprentices, but be careful of what you learn and practice as much as you can so that you don't hurt yourself and others." She calmed him.

This was puffing up his ego and he could help but sit up straight at the underhanded praise.

"You really think I'm better than the others?" He grinned at her playfully.

"I'm not repeating myself, Strange." She said as she sank a little into he waters.

He just smiled at her before he had a question.

"Are these natural spring waters?" He asked.

"Yes, surprisingly. Don't ask me how they built the Monastery over the springs, I have no clue. But this place is as close to an amazing hot spring as it gets." She sighed in pleasure.

"I've been to quite a few hot springs in the world." She smiled.

"You must travel a bit though." He pointed out.

"It depends on my mood on which ones I want to go. There's the Blood Pond Hot Spring in Japan that I frequent from time to time, and then there's the Lava Hot Springs in Idaho that is tucked away in the mountains. There are many hot springs in the world, but those two are the ones I go to to relax." She explained.

"Is traveling part of the job description?" He asked.

"A few years back I was sent to Idaho to find a relic that had been hidden for 400 years. Unfortunately, the relic was a fake and the real relic is still out there somewhere." She closed her eyes and sank into the water a bit.

"Afterwards, I stopped by Lava Hot Springs and took the week off. It was one of the more relaxing places I've been to." She smiled a little.

"More relaxing than here?" He asked.

"Definitely." She sighed before getting up, hopping onto the edge of the pool.

"I think it's time to turn in." She spoke before yawning a bit making sure to cover her mouth.

"Leaving already?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Unlike you, Doctor, I have to get up early in the morning to go to the Library to look up a few things." She said as she stood up and stretched herself out.

He couldn't help but tilt his head a little again, noticing the scars on her body yet again. She was so lithe and slender with toned muscles, but the scars are part of the landscape of her skin. It was part of her, and it spoke volumes about herself.

"You have a lot of scars, Anaiah." He spoke as he looked back up to her face. "How did you get them?

"Maybe I'll tell you how I got them eventually." She said as she took out her clipped hair and let it fall past her shoulders. "Being a Master of the Mystic Arts isn't just to bend reality and create spells of various sorts."

She had a glint in her eyes that pretty much told him that she wouldn't tell him anything else. Before she left the Bathing area, she patted him on his head before leaving.

"Good Night, Doctor Strange…" She sung before leaving the area.

For a moment there, he swore that she looked a bit bouncy as she left. But he didn't dwell on it for now. He stayed in the hot waters for about a couple of hours before he cleaned himself up. Afterwards, he got out, although slowly as he didn't want to leave this soon, and clothed himself with his robes and left the water chambers.

It was really quiet as he was making his way back to the West Wing. Then he paused before turning his head towards the way to the East Wing. He knew that the East Wing was off limits, but why?

He had to admit, he has a bit of a curious streak when it comes to him not knowing anything. Since he has immersed himself into the Mystic Arts he wanted to know everything there is about it, just like when he became a doctor, he knew everything there is about the human body.

He turned away from the direction of the East Wing, when he had a sudden thought.

" _Perhaps a quick look around wouldn't hurt."_ He thought as a small plan formed in his mind.

He had run into that Mirror earlier but he wondered just what lies in the East Wing. Perhaps a thirty minute detour wouldn't hurt. He gave a quick little smirk to himself, it wouldn't take long. Just to browse around and then come back without so much as touching anything.

What he didn't know is that as he made his way to the East Wing, two ice blue eyes were watching him from the shadows, glinting with insanity and glee.

A terrifying grin split the figure's face, revealing deadly fanged teeth, and the tilting of it's head was evident.

" _Oh my dear Doctor, you really should have headed my words of the East Wing. You will find things there that you may not want to see just yet in your lifetime."_ The figure in the shadows thought excitedly as it traveled through the shadows of the Monastery.

"Perhaps you should have returned to your room, you won't like what is hiding in the East Wing…" The figure giggled insanely. "I'm going to enjoy this…"

Stephen Strange just stuck himself into something that he wasn't ready to face just yet, but it was another path that he decided to take and it was a similar path he had taken when he found himself in his car crash. Except this time, this will be a rude awakening of a glimpse of what the Masters of the Mystic Arts really are.

* * *

 ** _TAL21:_** And this is the new chapter! I would have added on a bit more to it, but because I start my three twelve hour shifts for the next three nights, I wanted to post it as soon as I can. So in a way, This is pretty much slight filler chapter, but we will get to the Horror part of it in the next chapter. Personally, I wanted things to get steamy between Stephen and Anaiah…Eh, that was a great pun! Hehe…I'll shut up now. So I hoped that you liked this chapter, the next one will be the last of the Monastery Arc. I promise and then we will get back into the movie. I just may have to go back to the theater to rewatch the movie (Gosh I love Doctor Strange so much) XD. So, you get to see a bit of a fight scene between Anaiah and Stephen (I haven't written fights scenes since my permanent hiatus on my Naruto Fanfics), so I'm a bit rusty with that. She does kick ass doesn't she? XD Also, If I were you guys, I would listen to an awesome Band called Young Guns because they are an awesome band and I think that quite a few of their songs fit Anaiah quite well. Give them a shot. :) ON TO THE _**SHOUT OUTS!**_

 _ **Cj/Oddball:**_ Yeah, Anaiah can shape shift into males, but it's always awkward for her to do so. And i'm pretty sure she got her revenge on Stephen for making fun of her for that. XD And If anything, I would definitely say that it's around the time for Stephen and Anaiah getting together in a sense. Not just the physical attraction there will be other things that will pertain for both of their attractions to each other. And I know it's a cliche that a female character shows off her body to the male character especially if its a hot pool scene and the like, but what can i say, I like the cheesy cliches. XD

 _ **Guest:** _ I'm glad that You have been enjoying my story so far. I try to put as many details in the story as much as possible. I thinks that's what makes stories successful is if you can make sure that everything is connected and detailed. As for the Mirror of Erised, I would like to think that somehow the 'Magical' worlds can be connected in a sense. Seriously, if Tony Stark can pull off LOTR references, it would be so much more interesting if certain things that exist in another reality don't in the Marvel one. XD I hope that you will enjoy Lucia's mystery. Trust me, I have quite the plan for her. XD As for finding names for OCs, they are definitely not easy to find. You have to really do your research to find what name would fit your OC. What their personality traits are, how they were raised, what their background is, it's all essential to make your OC stand out a bit.  
 _ **  
Sparky She-Demon:**_ I'm glad that you liked that the Mirror of Erised in this story. I just figured what the hell and went along with it. XD As for the Wizard who gave the Mirror to Lucia? Who do you think? XD The Water Drakes were adorable. I really liked having them in there and they are so cute. I learned a little bit about different kinds of dragons( Wryms, Drakes, Wyverns, and the like) and I really wanted to expose Stephen to the more Supernatural/Magical side of creatures and animals. You'll be seeing a lot more of them eventually. As for Christ being a Sorcerer, I'll be pulling prominent figures from the past who were told to be sorcerers and sorceresses. Because why not!? I just find that fascinating. :) As for Stephen being a wiseass about Anaiah's Shapeshifting, payback is a bitch. XD

 _ **TAL21:** _ That's it for the _**Shout Outs**_. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be a definite crazy horror ride and you will even wonder how I managed to make it work in the Marvel Universe. Well, that is where imagination comes in. XD And If you guys have been paying attention to the Sneak Peaks, there will be a fight between Anaiah and Lucia, but why are they fighting? And Why is Stephen on the sidelines? Let's build up to that point shall we? Also, I did a bit more research on the good doctor and found that he had a wife (Clea who is estranged/divorced from him: also I never liked her to be honest.) and i did a bit of digging. Turns Out, Tony Stark wasn't the only Playboy in the Marvel Universe. So basically not only are Tony and Stephen two sides of the same coin (one is Scientific and the other Supernatural) they are also playboys. I'm hoping to play on that in future chapters. And If you don't believe me, look back in the many comics that Strange appeared in. XD I also had the chance to read _**Doctor Strange: The Oath.**_ And I enjoyed every bit of it. _**XD PLEASE LEAVE AMAZING AND DETAILED REVIEWS PEEPS!**_ I love hearing from you guys and talking with you about anything pertaining to Doctor Strange and the Marvel universe in general. :) Also, keep an eye out for the _**What If: Doctor Strange Plot Bunnies**_. I have quite a few ideas that just hasn't come to root or grow and I hope you guys get a kick out of it. My plot bunny is basically a Sherlock/Doctor Strange crossover chapter. I wonder how that will turn out. XD I Hope to see you guys in the next chapter!

 _ **Question Time:**_ There were so many Easter eggs in the Movie that I can't count them all. What Easter eggs did you find that stood out to you? Personally (if you read the comics) Strange has an affinity for using Axes as one of his favorite weapons. That was why he was trying to get to it when he was fighting Kaecillius. :)  
 _ **  
Keep on Reading and Writing!**_


	17. Authors Note

**_TAL21:_** Hey Readers of **_The Book Keeper!_**

It's been quite a while, huh? I'm so sorry for not updating this story due to extensive problems in real life as well as working on my Main Story, _**Black As The Blood In Our Names,**_ everything is a bit hard to do when you try to move out of the house, find an apartment and living in a basement at my friends place. And i did manage to find a new job which was so much better than my old one. So i'm just trying to get everything taken care of. I'm actually Planning on re-doing _**The Book Keeper**_ due to the fact that I watched _**Thor: Ragnarok,**_ I have to re-write this story a bit to fit the fact that Hela is the elder sister of Thor and Loki...

Imagine My Shock...

So I'll be re-doing The Book Keeper and Re-doing the story line quite a bit, but still keeping a bit true to the story that i have written so far.

Again, Sorry for taking so long. I'm planning on working on _**The Book Keeper,** **Thieving Hearts**_ , and _**Black as the Blood in Our Names.**_ I'll see you in the Re-write!

TimeAndLife21


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